Exclusive:Crown Office to sever office leases in cost-cutting measure
Hundreds of staff to be moved to council and public sector premises
Scotland’s independent prosecution service is to end its leases of several offices and consider selling its own properties as part of cost-cutting measures.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) currently has private leases for seven properties across Scotland as part of its estate, but aims to reduce that number to just one. It has also identified premises it owns deemed to be no longer sustainable.
As a result, nearly 500 of its staff will be moved to council offices or alternative public sector accommodation, with talks underway with several local authorities in order to secure space.
The COPFS say the changes, which will reduce running costs by £1.5 million by 2030, will ensure its office locations are based on “service needs” and support for court prosecution, rather than the need to hold local records or files.
With reduced occupancy levels particularly acute on Mondays and Fridays, it points to an opportunity to “rationalise” its privately leased estate and locations where it is embedded.
Between autumn this year and 2029, it will pursue lease breaks at its offices in Perth, Hamilton, Kirkcaldy, and Aberdeen, with 426 staff moving to local authority premises. Private leases in Airdrie and Glasgow will also be wound down; 38 staff at Airdre will be relocated to an alternative public sector site, while 117 staff based in Glasgow’s Legal House will move to the COPFS’s Ballater Street premises in the city.
Elsewhere, the COPFS said it also has an opportunity to dispose of the property it owns in Tain and move to a local authority hub, with discussions ongoing with Highland Council. The existing premises are used by just seven staff, and, say the COPFS, is “not sustainable in terms of future compliance or value for money.” Any sale would result in a modest windfall, given the premises are valued at £65,000.
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As part of the push to reduce costs, it also said it will assess the current use and future requirements at its embedded estates based across 27 Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service buildings.
The plans, detailed in a new five year estates strategy, state that the organisation’s business model has “changed significantly” in recent years, with the introduction of an agile working policy and new digital processes, such as summary case management, reducing the need for physical storage and the movement of paper and disc productions.
To that end, the COPFS also proposes centralising the storage of productions across four main geographical hubs - Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee - which it says will result in “significant savings” in terms of refurbishment, and “greatly reduce risk” due to the reduced movement of productions.
As part of those changes, some eight production stores based in Airdrie, Dumbarton, Dumfries, Greenock, Hamilton, Kilmarnock, Lanark, and Paisley are expected to be scrapped, although any changes will require consultation with Police Scotland.
A spokesperson for the COPFS said: “Our estates strategy reflects how we work today. We are reducing costs while creating modern, trauma-informed environments that work better for victims, witnesses and staff.
“We are not closing any locations across Scotland and will continue to maintain a visible presence in Sheriff Courts. Savings on buildings help protect investment in staff and frontline services.”
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