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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 11 January 2025
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Displaying 801 contributions

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Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 1 February 2023

Fulton MacGregor

I have just one more question, if that is all right?

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 1 February 2023

Fulton MacGregor

Good morning to the cabinet secretary and his team. My question, similar to Collette Stevenson’s, is about the resourcing of criminal justice social work. You virtually answered the first part of my question in response to Collette, but how do you see it working? Will the Government give direction or guidance to local authorities, or potentially in the future to the national care service, about how the teams could be developed? Just now, every area has a community justice team that deals with community payback orders and so on, and most areas have some sort of court team that is usually pretty small, with Glasgow as something of an exception. Will the court teams get the resources? How can we ensure that the court teams get resources? Is that how you see it working?

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 1 February 2023

Fulton MacGregor

From my experience, I think that this could work if we had beefed-up, for want of a better word, court social work teams across the country so that they mirrored with bail supervision what community justice teams do with community payback orders. That could be really beneficial across the whole system.

We have also heard quite a lot of evidence, as you will know, from witnesses who are quite supportive of the aims and principles of the bill. The committee’s adviser believes that the bill is a good way to bring about the policy memorandum. It is all very positive, but a lot of it—everybody has come back to this—will be about resourcing, and not just the Government giving those resources but about those coming in. If and when the bill is implemented, do you see bail supervision teams being much more robust and being able to do a lot more work with individuals, meaning that the courts will have a lot more faith in them?

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 1 February 2023

Fulton MacGregor

I have a quick question on information for victim support organisations. We have heard concerns about information being shared without the consent of the victim, which falls under section 11 of the bill. Will you talk about that, cabinet secretary?

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 1 February 2023

Fulton MacGregor

Yes, that is okay.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 31 January 2023

Fulton MacGregor

I do not think that your commitment in this area could ever be doubted, if you do not mind my saying so. I was on the committee with you when you were its convener, and I know that the subject is one that you have always been very passionate about.

I will move on from that to address participation. I want to touch on a point that Pam Duncan-Glancy made. Last week, Angela O’Hagan told the committee:

“both the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government could do a lot more to raise public awareness of Scotland’s finances.”—[Official Report, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, 24 January 2023; c 10.]

That issue has been on my mind and I want to ask about it. It also came out a wee bit in the exchange between you and Pam Duncan-Glancy.

When you are involved in politics, what you think about the state of finances in Scotland or the UK depends on what political party you follow, but many people do not follow politics. They might vote, but they do not follow politicians or political parties on social media and so on, so how can we work together to raise people’s awareness of our finances? You can express figures either way and turn them around—there is always an element of that. How can we all work together, not just in the Scottish Government, but with political parties across the Parliament, to make sure that the public understand the current situation, how that affects the decisions that are made about the budget and how it impacts on people’s lives? Do you understand what I am saying?

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 31 January 2023

Fulton MacGregor

We need to work together and almost have a collective responsibility to do that. Sometimes in the chamber, a particular narrative is given—I suppose that we are all guilty of that.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2023-24

Meeting date: 31 January 2023

Fulton MacGregor

Good morning. It is good to have you here, and I have appreciated your responses so far.

You have covered participation in your opening statement and in your answers to other questions, so there will be quite a lot of overlap here. What is the Government doing to improve capacity around participation? What I mean by that is helping people to understand exactly what impact spending decisions will have on their lives.

Criminal Justice Committee

Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 January 2023

Fulton MacGregor

I understand what you said about risk assessments, as I have a background in that area. Those risk assessments are generally well recognised as being about the risk of offending. However, given that the purpose of the bill is to tackle the issues of remand, which Jim Kerr has spoken eloquently about and on which we have heard from other witnesses, could the risk assessment also include assessing the risk that remand poses for the person?

10:15  

It is clear that this provision in the bill is all about giving sheriffs more information to make decisions and more leeway to steer people away from remand. I understand that no risk assessments are carried out specifically on those areas. The risk of future offending is crucial and key, and there would be no change in that respect. What do you think about my suggestion?

Criminal Justice Committee

Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 January 2023

Fulton MacGregor

I think that a temporary moment of confusion came over the whole committee, so apologies for that.