CHANGES in court procedures, which followed a long campaign by Scottish police bodies over time wasted in court, have freed up the daily equivalent of 300 front-line officers, a Government Minister claimed yesterday.

Mr Henry Mcleish, Scottish Home Affairs Minister, said the use of countermanding - giving potential witnesses early warning not to turn up - had taken place in 53% of cases in 1997 compared to 28% in 1991.

He told the conference of the Scottish Superintendents' Association at Peebles that research carried out in September last year showed an average of 405 police personnel on witness duty on any given court day, compared to 694 per day in a 1991 survey - a fall of 42%.

Mr McLeish said: ''We are translating efficiency in the courts into effectiveness on the streets.''

He insisted that with inter-agency co-operation they could go a lot further, and hinted that a new report to the Criminal Justice Forum by Sheriff Principal Graham Cox - which he would publish on June 1 - would spark a major debate. It was the first time, Mr McLeish said, that a group chaired by an important sheriff principal ''is actually suggesting significant and radical change in the court system''.

Mr John Orr, chief constable of Strathclyde and a guest at the conference, later poured some cold water on the Minister's optimistic analysis by pointing to the remaining level of police officers provided by the forces to the court system, for escort, security, and other duties.

This was a reference to Mr McLeish's earlier acknowledgement that the Scottish Office funding settlement, while an increase, had not met police aspirations for a standstill budget. Police recruitment in Scotland has halted as a result.

''I know there are some dangerous characters around the courts and a police presence may be justified on those grounds. We service courts across the region of Strathclyde, deploying about 140 officers a day. If there are further pressures on the police, this is an area chief constables may wish to look at,'' Mr Orr said.

Mr McLeish tried to be reassuring about the possible restructuring of Scottish police forces, which may lead to amalgamations. There was, he said, no preconceived idea and no hidden agenda.

On prostitution, an issue which arose out of this week's report on the imprisonment of women, he said there were no immediate plans to change the law.

If change was required, it was the kind of issue which should be debated in the new Scottish Parliament, where the implications of any policy or legal changes could be considered.