Chou Turvey responds to SNP ministers failing to fund sexual offences court

Responding to reporting in the Scotsman that SNP ministers have failed to bring forward any funding for their flagship sexual offences court, which they said would help cut the backlog of court cases, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP said:

“The SNP have an exceptionally poor track record of making lots of commitments in legislation and then failing to do the practical work to implement them.  

"The sexual offences court is at risk of suffering the same fate as greater protections for domestic abuse victims, protections which were promised in law more than five years ago, but which have yet to be implemented.

“I am concerned that the SNP’s approach to tackling violence against women and girls is a fundamentally superficial one: warm words that grab headlines but go nowhere.

“Ministers must set out a timeline for the creation of a specialist sexual offences court. They must also clarify whether additional resource will be given to ensure the law is implemented.”