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What, if any, assessment has been made of the extent to which the high and growing number of people being held on remand has an impact on those individuals? For example, how does that affect their mental health, earnings, employment or future housing arrangements?

If my memory serves me correctly, you said that the backlog for less serious cases should be cleared by spring of next year but is likely to continue until 2026 for more serious cases. Does that point to an imbalance of provision between the High Court and lesser courts?

Paragraph 91 of the report states that advisory group arrangements for the transformational projects that support the vision for justice in Scotland “are still being discussed”. It goes on to emphasise the importance of ensuring that

“the views of a wider group of stakeholders continue to inform decision-making and ensure that equalities issues are fully considered.”

Can you provide an update on what stage those discussions are presently at?

Thank you.

Good morning, Mr Boyle. Obviously, prison overcrowding is nothing new. You have previously reported that the prisoner population in Scotland exceeds the capacity of the Scottish prison estate. To what extent are the backlog and, particularly, the number of prisoners being held on remand—sometimes for extended periods—impacting on the existing and long-standing pressures in the Scottish Prison Service?

Paragraph 29 on page 17 of the report states that, through the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No 2) Act 2020, the Scottish Government extended the maximum time for which an accused person can be held on remand prior to trial without the court granting an extension. Can you tell the committee a bit more about the time limit extensions that the Scottish Government introduced? How are they different to the limits prior to Covid, particularly for those being held on remand?

I am going to use very much layman’s terms, and I am sure that procurators fiscal will be aghast at this. Is there any sense that procurators fiscal are going soft on less serious crimes, and those are simply not going to court? Is there a bit of jiggery-pokery and deal making to bring down the numbers in a quicker fashion than might otherwise have been the case before Covid?

The report states that the three-year delivery plan is

“critical for ensuring work continues to modernise the criminal justice system, and that it both meets and reflects the needs of people in Scotland, such as women and children”—

which you alluded to earlier—given that the present system appears to impact them disproportionately negatively.

The plan was due to be published in August 2022. Why was it not published then, as you mentioned in your opening remarks? What is the revised timetable for its release and implementation?

Obviously, if the delivery plan is still a work in progress, it is probably fair to assume that the proposals in it have not yet been fully costed—that process might be on-going. Given that £40 million has been allocated in this financial year to the recovery, renewal and transformation of the criminal justice system, to what extent should we have reservations about whether that money will be allocated or spent in the most effective or appropriate way?

I assume that all the views and experiences of a wide range of stakeholders will be important to mitigating the risks in the system. The report mentions that the Scottish Government, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and partners recognise the key risks to reducing the backlog and to achieving longer-term and much-needed transformation. It states:

“Ongoing and effective involvement of a wide range of stakeholders will be important to both mitigate and manage these risks now and in the future.”

Are you aware of what steps are being taken to mitigate those risks while all those other interventions are taking place?