No timeline or funding for new sexual offences court, Holyrood told

There is still no timeline or funding for Scotland’s new sexual offences court, MSPs have heard.

Legislation establishing a dedicated court for crimes such as rape was passed in September 2025.

The head of Scotland’s courts services told Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee there was currently no timeline for setting it up.

Malcolm Graham, chief executive of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), said there were “too many variables for me to try and put a date on it now”, adding that “it’s not something that’s entirely within my control”.

Catriona Dalrymple, director for justice at the Scottish Government, said no money to create the court had been allocated yet.

But she told MSPs she was “anticipating that that will be part of the budget round for 27-28”, which the Finance Secretary will announce in early December.

She said work was under way to develop what the court would look like and identify how much cash will be needed to create it.

“We need to develop the model of the sexual offences court before we’re able to identify any phasing of any funding,” she said.

She said the implementation of the court was led by the judiciary but that Government would work “very closely” on it.

Mr Graham said work was undertaken ahead of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 being passed but that it was now “historical” because the “volumes and nature of cases” had “dramatically changed”.

He said that included the doubling of the number of sexual offence cases at the High Court.

Mr Graham told the committee: “We haven’t got a timeline at the moment in terms of when it would be operational because we haven’t done the the work that we’ve just described, and there are too many variables for me to try and put a date on it now, largely because it’s not something that’s entirely within my control, so it would be improper for me to try and predict when we could implement it.”

Mr Graham said “critical work” was “absolutely” ongoing at the moment. In the meantime, it would not be “wise to try and put a date on” it, he added.

He said: “Our contention strongly is that we need to implement that court properly.

“It’s intended to provide a better service for some of the most vulnerable victims and witnesses that the court service and other partners deal with and if all we do is merely transfer business from one court to another, changing the name on the door, without being able to improve the service in terms of journey times, trauma-informed processes, etc, then I would contend we will have failed in terms of the policy intent of that legislation.”

In September, justice secretary Neil Gray admitted a dedicated sexual offences court would be “difficult to deliver” but described its creation as “necessary”.

He said work on it will not begin until next year.

Figures released last month showed the number of rapes and attempted rapes reported in Scotland rose by almost one third in four years, to 3,240 for the year to June 2026.

Sexual crimes overall have increased 11% in the past four years and 9% just in the last 12 months, with 16,560 recorded in the year to June.

First Minister John Swinney has described the rate of violence against women and girls in Scotland as a “national emergency”.

It comes amid long court backlogs, with the SCTS chief warning the rule of law could be undermined by “unconscionable” delays at the High Court.

He told the Public Audit Committee on Thursday: “Whilst the pandemic backlog has reduced substantially, a different and more serious challenge has emerged. We are increasing capacity in the courts, whilst consistently demonstrating we can deliver reforms and modernisation.

“But the sustainable response required is through joining up justice. We need a redesigned operating model across the criminal justice system, supported by a new digital platform.

“I think my central message to the committee is straightforward: decision making must be co-ordinated, and the necessary investment must be committed by Scottish Government.”