Families waiting eight years for fatal accident inquiries to be completed

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today revealed that the longest outstanding waits for fatal accident inquiries (FAI) in Scotland now run to almost a decade, as he described the current system as “unfit for purpose” and called on ministers to undertake immediate root and branch reform.      

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information investigation uncovered that: 

• The longest FAI currently outstanding concerns a death from over eight years ago (3,037 days). 
• A fatal accident inquiry which concluded in 2021/22 took 3,440 days to conclude. 
• The average FAI completed in 2022/23 took 1,163 days to complete - over three years.    
• The average outstanding FAI has been waiting over two years (774 days), with the average FAI for a death in custody waiting 650 days.    
• There are 3 FAIs into deaths in custody which have been outstanding since 2018/19, including the deaths of Katie Allan and William Lindsay in Polmont Young Offenders Institute.  

Scottish Liberal Democrats are now calling on the SNP Government to remove such inquiries from the remit of the Crown Office and set a one-year timeline for them to commence. For cases which do not commence within 12 months, the investigating body would be required to report to the government and to relatives of the deceased outlining why this has occurred.       

Mr McArthur said:      

“The fatal accident inquiry system should be about providing answers and learning lessons for the future, but a system that takes almost a decade to reach conclusions is deeply flawed and unfit for purpose.      

“As time goes on and years pass, evidence is lost and memories fade, making it so much more difficult to provide families with much-needed answers about their loved ones. The SNP Government have had plenty of opportunities to reform fatal accident inquiries but they have chosen to cling to a failed system.    

“It’s time for ministers to urgently undertake root and branch reform. Scottish Liberal Democrats would remove FAIs from the remit of the Crown Office and hand them to a new body charged with ensuring that inquiries begin with a year and that results are presented in a timely fashion, learning from the coroner system in England.”