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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

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

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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 20 December 2024
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Displaying 1236 contributions

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Criminal Justice Committee

Prosecution of Violence against Women and Girls

Meeting date: 22 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

That was really interesting. I do not know whether Mr Harvie wants to come in. If not, I will be happy to hand back to you, convener.

Criminal Justice Committee

Prosecution of Violence against Women and Girls

Meeting date: 22 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

Good morning, Lord Advocate and Mr Harvie. As the convener has said, we have had some powerful contributions from survivors in previous sessions, and I want to look at the role of the advocate depute in this process. We have been told that going through the system is like a second violation, and I want to ask about the way in which statements are taken when a case is prosecuted. In some cases, statements were taken four or five times. Moreover, when the prosecution element of the process was reached, it was found that the statement that was used was completely wrong compared with what had been provided, and the whole thing had taken years. Is that standard practice and, if so, why?

Criminal Justice Committee

Prosecution of Violence against Women and Girls

Meeting date: 22 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

I was touching on our evidence session with the survivors. There was very strong criticism of the process—not just the Crown prosecution but the police—in terms of giving statements, and of the interaction or lack of it from the advocate depute. My question was to see whether you feel that is standard practice, in terms of the delays—the years of backlog and whatnot. If so, why, and what can we do to rectify that?

11:00  

Criminal Justice Committee

Prosecution of Violence against Women and Girls

Meeting date: 22 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

Thank you. I do not know whether Mr Harvie wants to come in, if he is available.

Criminal Justice Committee

Prosecution of Violence against Women and Girls

Meeting date: 22 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

My next question is for the Lord Advocate. Who provides complainers with legal advice at present? What are your views on whether victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse should have access to independent legal representation as well?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Committee (Annual Progress Report)

Meeting date: 21 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

Those are really interesting comments. On the Scottish Government’s proposed policies, the spend of £336 million this year correlates with expected emissions reductions. Is there an adequate methodology to calculate that?

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Committee (Annual Progress Report)

Meeting date: 21 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

I have no further questions.

Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

Climate Change Committee (Annual Progress Report)

Meeting date: 21 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

Good morning. You have already touched on the heat in buildings strategy, but I want to ask about the real-world impact of the pathway that has been set out by the committee and the Scottish Government with regard to decarbonising buildings. What will the impact be on, say, householders, the energy industry and even the supply chain? What about the skills development elements and, indeed, the public health benefits?

Criminal Justice Committee

Prosecution of Violence against Women and Girls

Meeting date: 15 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

I have a question/observation that I put to witnesses at last week’s committee meeting about the feedback that we got from the survivor group that mentioned a disjointed approach and an expectation gap when it comes to reporting a sexual crime. I mentioned that Rape Crisis Scotland has a video on YouTube called the RCS survivors guide to the Scottish justice system. Do you use that video, or do you direct complainers towards it? I found it helpful, although the reality sometimes does not match up with the process that it shows.

Criminal Justice Committee

Prosecution of Violence against Women and Girls

Meeting date: 15 December 2021

Collette Stevenson

Good morning. I thank our two witnesses from Police Scotland for joining us.

As you will probably be aware, we had a private session with people who have been victims of varying degrees of sexual crime, and we heard powerful testimony from them. I want to ask you about your process for taking statements and what happens from the outset right through the process, including what information is provided to the complainer. Will you give us a wee bit of insight into that, perhaps with a walk through of the process? If I presented to you today as a complainer in relation to a sexual or violent crime, what could I expect from Police Scotland?