Exclusive:Crown warns victim service and support for unsolved cases set for cuts without SNP funding boost
The Crown is facing a funding cut from SNP ministers - putting a host of frontline justice services, including support for unsolved crimes, at risk.
Scotland’s prosecutors have warned that work on historic child abuse cases and a flagship victim service are at risk of being scaled back if SNP ministers fail to hand over more funding in next month’s budget.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has told MSPs that it is drawing up cuts to frontline services it will be forced to make if it does not receive a funding boost when Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary, Jenny Gilruth, delivers her draft budget on December 3.
COPFS, headed by Lord Advocate Ruth Charteris, is responsible for criminal prosecution services in Scotland.
Under the forecast financial settlement, COPFS is poised to receive just £234m in next year’s budget, compared to last year’s £240.5m - with a funding cut on the cards despite having new measures to implement.
In a letter to MSPs, Yvette Greener, chief operating officer of COPFS, has warned that its landmark victim information and advice (VIA) service, support for cold cases and historic sexual abuse cases and Justice of the Peace Court proceedings will all have to be cut if more funding is not provided by SNP ministers.
READ MORE: Scottish courts face being 'stretched beyond breaking point' as SNP under pressure to boost funding
The VIA service was set up more than 20 years ago in response to concerns that victims, particularly vulnerable people, had no access to support and advice or updates on their case. Tens of thousands of victims and witnesses have accessed the service amid a growing demand.
The service is offered to victims of domestic abuse, hate crime, sexual offences or stalking, those involved in a jury trial, those under the age of 18 or at state pension age or older or those assessed as requiring additional support.
An inspection report published by HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland last month, found that a VIA modernisation programme, commissioned by former lord advocate Dorothy Bain in 2022 to “devise changes to ensure it continues to meet the needs of victims” has “been paused in light of ongoing COPFS structural change”.
Last month Debbie Adams, interim chief executive officer at Victim Support Scotland, told MSPs that the VIA service was “very patchy” across the country.
There are hundreds of Scottish cold cases including an estimated 1,300 unsolved murders, some dating back to the 1960s.
The body of 20-year-old Ann Ballantine was discovered in the Union Canal in Edinburgh in January 1987, wrapped in carpet, just 100 yards from her home. Her body was so decomposed that she had to be identified by dental records and a scar on her head.
Despite continued investigations by Police Scotland and the former Lothian and Borders police, her mother, Isobel, had been told there was a potential suspect but crucially, not enough evidence for them to be charged.
“You keep hoping and hoping that there will be a breakthrough and something will happen to get over whatever stumbling blocks are in the way”, Isobel previously told The Scotsman.
“What keeps me going is the hope that there will be justice. And that what goes around, comes around."
READ MORE: Scottish Legal Aid Board demands 'transformational change' in SNP government's overhaul of system
Justice of the Peace Courts in Scotland deal with low-level summary offences such as speeding, careless driving and breach of the peace.
Ms Greener has warned that if no extra funding is available, it “would necessitate material reductions in the scope, pace or level of service delivery at a time of increased demand and complexity”.
She added: “The scope to withdraw discretionary activity or expenditure without affecting operational delivery or failing to meet our statutory duty is very limited.”
In her letter, sent to Holyrood’s justice committee, Ms Greener was warned that “as a minimum”, COPFS will be forced to “reduce our VIA service to victims and witnesses and bereaved families”, as well as “stop or slow support to cold case and old Scottish child abuse inquiries” and “consider whether we can continue to support Justice of the Peace courts”.
The Crown would also be forced to “stop or slow Covid death investigations” and “reduce discretionary fatal accident inquiries".
Ms Greener has pointed to “additional expectations as a result of new initiatives” including “enhancing our response to government priorities including violence against women and girls”.
COPFS has warned it will need around £10.5m to implement its part in the new sexual offences court.
READ MORE: Rape survivors risk being 'let down' as SNP ministers fail to fund flagship sexual offences court
Rape Crisis Scotland's external affairs manager, Nicola Love, said: "Current pressures on the justice system are already having a devastating impact on survivors of rape and sexual abuse.
"There are increasing numbers of survivors who choose to report rape and sexual abuse. This includes a significant number who are coming forward to report incidents from years ago and abuse which took place when they were children. They deserve far better than what the current justice process currently offers them: unacceptable wait times, distressing delays and a process which often traumatises them.
"We should be taking steps to get to a point where it does not take three years to produce a outcome in a rape case. Instead we are having a conversation about whether existing justice services, which are already struggling to meet demand, might have to be cut. Continuing to underfund justice agencies - and the organisations supporting survivors through the justice process - is both untenable and completely unconscionable."
Scottish Labour justice spokesperson, Pauline McNeill, said: “This represents yet another warning to the Scottish government from the justice sector that they fear a budget cut, which would have devastating consequences for victims.
“Victims’ rights were supposed to be a cornerstone of this government’s priorities. They must consider carefully how they will protect this critical service.
“The Scottish government should heed these warnings and consider the impact any budget cuts may have on the ability of the service to provide this support, and to ensure victims get the help they need.”
Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson, Stephen Kerr, has warned that “victims will pay a heavy price once again if the SNP don’t listen to these warnings”.
He added: “Scotland’s justice system is creaking at the seams and there would be a deeply damaging impact on how victims access services if ministers don’t reverse their current plans.
“Neil Gray as justice secretary must confirm he will be fighting for the sector ahead of the SNP’s budget, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson, Yi-pei Chou Turvey, said the “stark warnings” show “the Scottish government cannot take for granted such important services as victim support”.
She added: “As we have seen with domestic abuse protections and the specialist sexual offences court, the SNP have a poor track record of legislating for measures that fail to materialise because they have no plan for funding or implementing them.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) performs a vital role in Scotland’s justice system and this year we increased funding for the organisation to £259.9m in recognition of the pressures it faces.
“We will continue to engage with COPFS on its funding requirements for 2027-28 as part of the Scottish government’s budget process.”
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