The Scottish Conservatives have warned the Crown Office is at “breaking point” after it emerged the number of staff sick days have soared by a fifth in six years.
Research by Ruth Davidson’s party published today reveals more than 16,000 absences were recorded in the organisation in 2015-16 – compared with about 13,000 in 2010-11.
The figures, obtained through a freedom of information request, show the average Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service worker is taking more than 10 days off every year – almost three days more than the comparative figure in the civil service.
The Scottish Conservatives’ community safety spokesman Oliver Mundell said the figures were a direct result of fiscals “working with less and being expected to achieve more”.
The Scottish Government said it had invested more than £7million to help with workloads.
But Mr Mundell said: “These figures send a worrying signal that some fiscals are at breaking point – and while not all of these absences will be directly work-related, many of them are.
“The Scottish Government continues to make legislative changes without giving sufficient thought to the service and people that will need to implement them.”
Mr Mundell said “more and more people” were coming forward to report sexual and domestic abuse, but claimed there was a lack of “adequate resources” to “ensure victims are not let down”.
He added: “No one doubts the dedication and professionalism of fiscals, but they’re working with less and expected to achieve more.
“That will have an impact on the justice system as a whole and the service the public rightly expects.
“Instead of pretending everything’s ok, the Scottish Government needs to address this situation and address it now.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “An increase in reporting and subsequent prosecution of certain types of crime, such as domestic abuse and sexual assault, demonstrates that robust investigation by police and a consistent approach taken by fiscals is working to improve the public’s confidence to come forward and report crime.
“The Scottish Government has invested an additional £7.2million in the period 2015-16 to 2017-18 in our prosecutors and courts to allow better case preparation and speed up access to justice for domestic abuse and sexual offence cases.”
