About Us
Find out more about us, our history and the support we offer.
Our History
Why was The Listening Service Edinburgh set up?
The Listening Service Edinburgh is unique in Scottish Courts.
The service was inspired by the personal experience of an accused person, his parents and two supporting friends attending Edinburgh Sheriff Court in 2014. None had been in the building before or had any experience or understanding of Scottish law or how it operates.
They found the experience confusing, stressful, anxious and frustrating without knowing who to approach for help in a very busy and noisy environment.
Recognising this concern and, learning about an interfaith chaplaincy project in Bradford County Court, a group of interested people, from the Edinburgh Interfaith Association, looked at the possibility of starting a scheme to support court users in Edinburgh. The Sheriff Principal, who has responsibility for court services in Lothian and Borders, agreed to a 3 month trial.
With the support of the Methodist Church (including a small grant for branded shirts) decisions on recruitment, training and operations were taken and The Listening Service Edinburgh launched in December 2016.
Listening to people’s concerns, without giving legal advice, solving problems or providing counselling, volunteers have been in the public areas of the Edinburgh Sheriff Court every working day since.
Registered as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation and regulated by OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator, since 2019, it is managed by volunteer trustees.
For more information about The Listening Service Edinburgh please
click here for our Constitution
Lord Wallace of Tankerness, Our Patron
Lord (Jim) Wallace of Tankerness became Patron of The Listening Service Edinburgh in 2022, having learned about their valuable work, when, as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, he visited Edinburgh, Sheriff Court.
He was MP for Orkney & Shetland (1983-2001), and MSP for Orkney (1999-2007). As
Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader, he was Deputy First Minister of Scotland 1999-2005.
He was Justice Minister and later Minister for Enterprise & Lifelong Learning. Created a Life Peer in 2007, Jim was Advocate General for Scotland from 2010 to 2015. He
led the Lib Dem Peers from 2013 to 2016 and continues to sit in the House of Lords.
Our Trustees
The Constitution of The Listening Service Edinburgh provides for a maximum of 5 trustees. Their responsibility is to manage the activities of the charity. This includes monitoring the finances, the policies by which the service is run, and the recruitment, training and support of the volunteer listeners. The trustees also liaise regularly with the Court Administration Service, Edinburgh Sheriff Court.