CONCERNS have again been raised about the pending closure of Haddington Sheriff Court at the end of the month.

A ceremony is being held next Friday (January 23) to mark the end of the court, which has been at the heart of justice in the county since medieval times.

At the same time, politicians are calling for a last-minute re-think.

Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, and Jim Hume, MSP for the South of Scotland, both argued separate cases for the Court Street building to remain open.

Mr Gray told the Courier that newly-released figures showed the Justice Department’s budget for the last financial year was underspent by £92 million.

He said the underspend could easily have saved Haddington and other courts from closure several times over.

“One of the key reasons cited by SNP ministers to justify the closure of Haddington court was the need to save money,” said Mr Gray. “However, the huge £92 million underspend in the justice budget shows that this was simply not the case. Indeed, Haddington court could be saved without making a dent in £92 million.

“The fact is the funds were there to save our courts, but SNP ministers still refused to think again.

“They are sticking to their misguided decision despite all the evidence against closure and in contempt of overwhelming local public opinion.” Meanwhile, Mr Hume called for plans to shut the court to be halted, after new figures showed delays at courts having to cope with extra business following the closure of other nearby courts.

East Lothian’s court business will be transferred to Edinburgh once the court closes on January 30.

Cupar Sheriff Court shut last May. Mr Hume said the closure meant the percentage of summary criminal cases completed within the six-month target at Dundee Sheriff Court was on average 77 per cent between June and September 2014, in contrast to 84 per cent during the same period in 2013.

Meanwhile, the average time taken to process a summary criminal case at Aberdeen Sheriff Court was on average 149 days between June and September 2014, up from 117 during the same period in 2013.

This followed the closure of Stonehaven Sheriff Court, where cases were previously completed in 109 days.

Mr Hume called on the Scottish Government to recognise those delays and reconsider the closure of Haddington.

He said: “The evidence shows communities across Scotland are receiving a poorer service as a direct result of the widespread court closure programme.” A spokesman for the Scottish Court Service said: “There have been attempts to lay the blame of increased waiting times for court cases on court closures but the reality is that the impact comes from an increase in the numbers of cases coming into all courts at this time.

“Court closures affect only five per cent of all court business conducted in Scotland and there will be no reduction in staff or judicial resources from the closure of Haddington – all will transfer to Edinburgh Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Courts.

“To tackle the increase in cases coming into court, together with COPFS and supported by the Scottish Government, we have put additional staffing and judicial resources into running additional courts to tackle these delays. We are already seeing reductions in delay periods as a result. “The additional judicial, court and fiscal staff that are now being deployed to deal with the additional business volumes would have been required even if no court had closed.

“We remain confident that there is ample capacity in Edinburgh to accommodate the Haddington business.”