(Image: Colin Mearns)
Disabled people held at a Scots sheriff court are still without a proper toilet four years after inspectors first called for improvements, with one wheelchair user forced to cling to a urinal to pull himself out of his chair and keep his balance while urinating, a damning report has revealed.
The man would have been unable to defecate without intimate assistance from custody staff at Glasgow Sheriff Court, inspectors found, after discovering that the cell being used as a toilet lacked basic equipment including grab rails.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland said the failure to provide suitable facilities remained unresolved, with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service citing financial constraints despite the watchdog saying the necessary changes would not impose a significant financial burden.
It came through an inspection of the court's custody unit, where disabled people are still being held without access to suitable toilet facilities after the watchdog first recommended improvements four years ago.
The analysis said: “This situation is wholly unacceptable on both hygiene and dignity grounds.”
It added: “Implementing this would not create a significant financial burden, and the current approach is not acceptable.”
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) says it is designing a dedicated accessible toilet for disabled detainees at Glasgow Sheriff Court, citing security challenges with installing standard accessibility aids in custody areas.
Inspectors found that Cell 53 was being used by people with disabilities despite lacking essential adaptations, including grab rails and other basic equipment that would allow wheelchair users to use the toilet more safely and independently.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), which is responsible for maintaining court buildings, had cited financial constraints as a reason why the recommendation to provide suitable facilities, first made in 2022, had not been implemented.
The report said disabled people continued to be accommodated in the custody unit rather than being held in another part of the court building where facilities meeting accessibility requirements were available.
Glasgow Sheriff Court (Image: Picture: Colin Mearns)
The findings raise questions over why a problem identified by inspectors four years ago remains unresolved, despite the watchdog's assessment that the necessary changes would not impose a significant financial burden.
Read More by Martin Williams
Inspectors said Cell 53 was large enough to allow a wheelchair user to enter and move around, but its lack of suitable equipment meant that basic bodily functions could become a struggle.
The man examined during the inspection had to rely on holding the urinal to pull himself out of his wheelchair and maintain his balance while urinating. Inspectors said it would not have been possible for him to defecate without intimate assistance from custody staff.
Staff told the inspection team that they received an average of four disabled people in custody every week, highlighting that the problem was not an isolated issue affecting a single individual.
The report said public bodies were required under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure disabled people had access to facilities that met their needs. Accessible toilets should be sufficiently spacious for wheelchair users and equipped with appropriate fixtures, including grab rails and suitable toilet seats.
The watchdog recommended that reasonable adjustments be made to Cell 53 to allow it to be used by people with mobility difficulties.
The failure to provide suitable facilities was one of several issues examined during the inspection of Glasgow Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, which was carried out on January 19, 2026.
HMIPS had first recommended in 2022 that disabled people should have access to suitable toilet facilities and said the situation had been deemed “unacceptable for a number of years”.
They recommended that “consideration should be given to cell 53 being converted to a disabled toilet”, but the issue remained unresolved at the latest inspection.
The latest analysis said disabled detainees should be accommodated elsewhere in the court building where accessibility standards could be met, until suitable arrangements were available within the custody unit.
The inspection also highlighted the importance of ensuring the health and wellbeing of people held in court custody, following a death at Glasgow Sheriff Court in early 2025.
In response to that death, custody contractor GEOAmey had introduced a procedure requiring every person arriving in custody to be asked whether they were unwell or wished to see a nurse. Inspectors found the process was operating effectively.
Nursing provision was available between 10am and noon on Mondays and between 11am and noon for the remainder of the week. The report said the arrangements allowed people to request help themselves or be referred by staff when concerns were identified.
The court custody unit has 58 cells and a capacity of 120 people. On the day of the inspection, 87 people arrived from police custody and Scottish Prison Service establishments, including nine women, one of whom was under 21, and 78 adult men.
The report also found that risk-assessment questions were not always being asked fully or at all, raising concerns about the reliability of assessments used to decide which people could safely share cells.
An SCTS spokesman said: " We are carefully considering all the recommendations and discussing them with our justice partners. SCTS is committed to ensuring its buildings are accessible and inclusive for all users and will continue to identify opportunities to enhance accessibility across its estate where practicable.
“However there are challenges associated with installing standard accessibility aids within a custody environment, where any fixture must also be assessed against security, anti-ligature and vandal resistance requirements. While accessibility remains a key consideration, the safety and security risks associated with such installations must also be carefully managed.
“To provide a more sustainable and appropriate solution, designs are now being undertaken to convert Cell 53 into a dedicated Disability Discrimination Act-compliant toilet facility for custodies. This would provide a purpose-designed accessible space that better meets the needs of individuals with disabilities whilst allowing for the incorporation of custodial design requirements and security measures.”