The figure fell from 2.2 per cent in 2014/15 to 0.9 per cent for the first three quarters of 2018/19 – a drop of 1.3 percentage points, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) statistical bulletin shows.

The report also shows that in High Court business, the volume of indictments registered in recent quarters continues to be above 200 per quarter while evidence led trials during the same period remain high.

This trend is anticipated to continue due to increased reporting of sexual offending cases.

Solemn business in the Sheriff Court saw an increase of eight per cent in the volume of petitions registered in Q3 2018/19 when compared to Q2 2018/19.

Meanwhile, the volume of Sheriff Court summary trials scheduled has risen by two per cent over the last two quarters and Justice of the Peace Court cases registered between Q3 2018/19 and Q2 2018/19 are down six per cent.

David Fraser, chief operations officer, said: “I am delighted to provide this information which shows the trends in criminal cases over the last four years and represents another advance in the drive for openness and transparency on court activity.

“Overall the data in this report show the system is performing well. The number of adjournments for lack of court time is down across all sectors which is a good indicator of overall performance.”