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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 17 March 2025
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Displaying 1088 contributions

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Criminal Justice Committee

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

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

A lot of groups out there, such as Victim Support Scotland, already deal with victims. Are we not listening to their voices? Are they not able to raise the issues with the system with us? Should we not be able to hear them, too? I am just thinking about the costs. Would it not be better if that money went to more of those groups?

That brings me on to my other question. Where is the money coming from? Is something else being cut to provide the money for another commissioner?

Criminal Justice Committee

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

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

It is not an insignificant amount of money.

Finally, on implementation, you have said that the bill is being brought in to make the system more efficient. Part 3 of the bill refers to the Children (Scotland) Act 2020; although sections 4 to 8 of that act aim to address some of the weaknesses in the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004, I note that they are not yet in force. Why have the 2020 act provisions not yet come into force?

Criminal Justice Committee

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

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

I still think that the money could be better used to upskill the existing staff. However, if the bill were to be passed, what would the timescale be to get the new court up and running, and do you actually have the resource to do that?

11:00  

Criminal Justice Committee

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

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

No problem, convener.

Following on from Katy Clark’s question and the issue of the set-up and recurring costs, will the commissioner provide value for money and how will they improve the situation for victims and witnesses?

Criminal Justice Committee

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

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

Thank you.

Criminal Justice Committee

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

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

Ms McCloy has already answered much of my question on the reasoning behind changing the jury size. We are going from 15 to 12 jurors and when we had 15 jurors, if three stood down or were sick, we could still run the trial with 12. Now, we are going to have 12 jurors, but if three people come off the jury, we can still run with nine members. I was wondering about the reasoning behind that, but Ms McCloy answered that.

The other part of my question was about the pilot of having one judge as the jury for serious sexual offences. How would that work?

Criminal Justice Committee

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

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

I will follow on from that line on questioning. We have a High Court and a sheriff court, so why do we need a new sexual offences court? The convener put it quite well when she asked whether we could improve and refine what already exists. How much will it cost to set up the new sexual offences court? Would that money not be better used for training and for victim support groups so that we can use the system that we already have?

Criminal Justice Committee

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

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

You said earlier that we all share the aim of the guilty being convicted and those who are not guilty being set free, which I am sure that we all agree on. However, we are saying that we want victims’ voices to be heard, and one of the things that victims have said is that, in the end, they feel let down by the sentences. Therefore, is the bill looking at anything to do with sentencing for those who are convicted of an offence?

Criminal Justice Committee

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

Meeting date: 27 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

As you have said, there is a range of commissioners who hold the system to account. However, have you assessed whether the other commissioners are effective in their roles? Might this be a case of, “They’ve got a commissioner, so we want one”? Are the commissioners effective? They might be accountable to the Parliament, but we already have a cabinet secretary and a minister who are accountable to the Parliament. Why do we need to bring in another layer of bureaucracy?

Public Audit Committee

Section 22 Report: “The 2021/22 audit of Scottish Canals”

Meeting date: 21 September 2023

Sharon Dowey

The committee has noted the steps that Scottish Canals is taking to address the disclaimer opinion on its annual report and accounts for 2021-22. We have also noted its commitment to delivering a set of accounts free from a disclaimer opinion and to laying its annual report and accounts in the new year. However, it appears that Scottish Canals faces a significant challenge in meeting its public accountability responsibilities and complying with financial reporting manual requirements. Indeed, we heard as much in your opening statement. What contingencies do you have in place should you fail to do so?

10:45