As introduced, this Bill has two main parts.
Part 1 of the Bill was created to modernise procedures in criminal courts. Some of these changes are already in place and the Bill makes these permanent.
Part 2 of the Bill aims to provide a process for reviewing deaths which relate to abusive behaviour within relationships, to allow lessons to be learned.
As with all Bills, the Finance and Public Administration Committee invites written evidence on the estimated financial implications of the Bill as set out in its accompanying Financial Memorandum (FM).
Read the FM for this Bill: Financial Memorandum.
The Committee's call for views closed on Friday 17 January 2025.
The Committee received 3 submissions to its call for views. Read the submissions on Citizen Space.
The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government and the Criminal Justice Committee on issues raised in the written submissions:
Letter from the Convener to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs of 5 February 2025
Letter from the Convener to the Convener of the Criminal Justice Committee of 5 February 2025
The Scottish Government responded to the Committee's letter on 13 February 2025:
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs to the Convener of 13 February 2025