³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Skip to main content
Loading…

Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

Filter your results Hide all filters

Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 21 August 2025
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 1121 contributions

|

Criminal Justice Committee

Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 15 November 2023

Angela Constance

I acknowledge that there is a debate around that. In many ways, it is a live debate between different stakeholders and voices in the legal establishment. I certainly acknowledge that uncertainty for victims is undesirable.

The Government’s position is that we are supportive of reducing the use of floating trials. We have not introduced any measures to ban their use; in essence, that is because we are still tackling a court backlog.

Although the court recovery programme is making good progress and has reduced the backlog by a third, and there is a timetable of activity to move matters forward, the concern is that removing floating trials at this time could increase delays further and induce further distress.

We have taken a more flexible approach whereby courts would be required to consider trauma-informed practice when scheduling their business. However, we are supportive of a shift in culture.

Criminal Justice Committee

Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 15 November 2023

Angela Constance

With respect, I point to Lady Dorrian’s review of the management of sexual offence cases, from which the bill is largely developed. That took a clean-sheet approach and it was a substantive piece of work that took place over two years.

It is always fair to acknowledge that no bit of legislation is ever the silver bullet but, although it does not come without its financial costs, this is a substantial piece of legislation that will make historic changes that will benefit victims and witnesses and, crucially, improve the experience that victims and witnesses have of our current court procedures in particular.

11:00  

Criminal Justice Committee

Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 15 November 2023

Angela Constance

The chief superintendent was talking about a local policing context and working with community planning partnerships, and he was reflecting on matters at a level beyond the bill; I am not sure that he was giving a direct comment that was specifically about the bill. However, members who were present at the time will have their own views on that.

Having looked at the Official Report, Mr Findlay, and at your lengthy exchange with Mr Watt about the Parole Board, my understanding is that some of what he said was quite specific to how the Parole Board engages with victims or those who are registered under the victim notification scheme.

Criminal Justice Committee

Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 15 November 2023

Angela Constance

We are riding two horses at once—

Criminal Justice Committee

Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 15 November 2023

Angela Constance

That is sometimes just the way that life needs to be. We are taking this bill through Parliament in tandem with the work to implement previous legislation.

On some of the specifics, the bill before us expands the powers of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020. There is a good synergy between the 2020 act and this bill, in that we are essentially increasing the safeguards for vulnerable parties. Section 11 of the 2020 act contains special measures that are focused on family cases involving custody and disputes about contact. In this bill, we are taking the nub of that element and expanding it to cover civil procedures more widely. That is to be welcomed—it is what victims have been calling for.

Nonetheless, I would say that progress has been made with the 2020 act. There are other aspects of that act that do not relate directly to this bill—in and around child contact centres, for example. Ministers have had detailed discussions with the Care Inspectorate on that and hope to be in a position to lay Scottish statutory instruments soon. There is progress on that.

The bit of the 2020 act that is relevant to the bill that is before us is a good example of where we have undertaken a bit of movement in protecting people in civil proceedings and expanded that further, and we will make more progress in that respect.

The Vulnerable Witnesses (Criminal Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2019 relates to the introduction of pre-recorded evidence in court, and we have made progress in that regard in the High Court. That work is phased and on-going. In later sessions, we will discuss part 5 of this bill, on the establishment of a sexual offences court, and there will be a presumption that pre-recorded evidence will be used in that court.

11:30  

The Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 is an example of legislation for which there are practical issues relating to implementation. That is why I gave a note of caution in our discussion about amendments. Not all the issues with the 2021 act relate to finances. Some relate to how timescales that are set in legislation have an impact on the operational justice agencies, and there are some challenges in how the views of children can be gathered in ways that do not cause them additional harm or trauma. This is in no way an excuse, but our experiences in implementing the 2021 act are not dissimilar to some of the difficulties that have been experienced south of the border.

Legislation can be complex, and its implementation is sometimes more complex than anticipated. However, I assure the committee that I will seek to mitigate such issues as far as possible as we go through the bill process.

Criminal Justice Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 8 November 2023

Angela Constance

There is an alignment between the justice vision and the national strategy for community justice, and the delivery plans in that respect. There is nothing new in the delivery plans, but they are continuing to put our words into practice. I would also highlight the transformational change programme, particularly the way in which it shifts the balance from prison to community justice.

The overall community justice budget for this year is £134 million, which includes the continuation of an additional £15 million of investment that began in 2022-23 to support pandemic recovery efforts and to bolster capacity. However, there is no doubt that the early intervention that we want to see in justice services applies beyond those services. The Government’s broader agenda in relation to early intervention and prevention, whether in health, early years, social security, employability and so on, is crucial, too. I do agree, though, that there is a very strong argument for picking up the pace in achieving our ambitions for community justice, bearing in mind the situation that we are in with a growing prison population.

11:00  

Criminal Justice Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 8 November 2023

Angela Constance

To be blunt, I would say that doing nothing to move towards preventative services and early intervention is not an option. Indeed, we can see that in the obvious example of the rising prison population, and the same could apply to other justice services. In our broad strategic approach, we need to reduce demand for some services, and you can do that only by acting earlier.

With our precious resources, we need, where possible, to have a longer-term spend-to-save vision through, for example, certain digital investment. The evidence tells us that, although there will always be a place for prisons and although there will always be people who will be required to be in custody, the use of robust community supervision is far more effective at reducing reoffending than, for example, a short-term custodial sentence. In some circumstances, prison is an expensive way of making things worse.

I think that your cross-Government point is well understood; indeed, I would highlight as an example the overrepresentation of care leavers in our prison system. Therefore, it is not just investment in community justice or rehabilitation programmes in prisons that is important to me, but our investment in the early years, in supporting families and in the Promise, and there is also the work that we are doing in justice on the bairns’ hoose pathways. All of those things will lead to a different approach to supporting children and victims.

Moreover, there is the proceeds of crime money that is invested in diversionary activities for young people. Over its history, it has supported hundreds of thousands of them; indeed, I think that the current programme will benefit around 33,000 young people across the country.

Criminal Justice Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 8 November 2023

Angela Constance

How the Lord Advocate pursues prosecutions is a matter for her. I will have meetings and catch-up sessions with the Lord Advocate and it will be for her to perhaps look at modelling to anticipate the impact that that will have on prosecutions. However, as I said, the judgment has an immediate and retrospective impact.

Criminal Justice Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 8 November 2023

Angela Constance

It is too early to say, but I think that it is fair to say that it has the potential to increase prosecutions.

Criminal Justice Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 8 November 2023

Angela Constance

Yes. I did not want you to be under the impression that this was a one-year-only capital investment.