Chamber and committees

Thank you. I know that members will probably ask more questions about the resourcing side of things. I would like to follow up with a practical question about the broader role of criminal justice social work that is outlined in the bill and how it informs court decision making. So far, we have received a lot of witness evidence that indicates support for the proposal. However, there is concern about its practical implications; in particular, resourcing and the time issue that can come into play around that. For example, the judiciary articulated concern about the

“unnecessary detention of individuals while information is gathered”.

From that, I assume that there is the potential for somebody to be remanded, albeit for perhaps one day, while information is gathered. That could be a particular challenge in rural areas, for example. Can you outline a wee bit more about how that might be addressed?

Thank you very much, indeed, cabinet secretary. Some of those issues, particularly your last point on resourcing, will certainly be the subject of members’ questions.

Members, in the spirit of having a smooth session, please let us know which official you would like to bring in. That will allow us to press the right button and bring them in quickly.

My initial question touches on why changes should be made to the law on bail at all. That has come up during our evidence sessions. Are there no other options that could be considered that would still meet the objective of reducing the remand population? I note that the policy memorandum refers to the Criminal Justice Committee’s report “Judged on Progress”, in which we called for a reduction in the overall numbers held on remand and for alternative approaches to be considered. However, I think that it was the judiciary that set out that meaningful change in how custody is used would require specific legislative reform, and that is included in the policy memorandum. I note also that the Scottish Government consultation on the bill indicated that just under two thirds of respondents agreed that judges should refuse bail only where there are public safety grounds for doing so.

If we are seeking to reduce the remand population, can you outline a bit more about how the status of bail that is placed on somebody can be changed or improved so that it is more effective, as a community-based measure, in supporting both the person who is subject to that bail status and the wider public, particularly victims?

Thank you. Fulton MacGregor, do you want to come back in? If not, I will come in with a question.

That has taken us a little bit over our time. I thank the cabinet secretary and all his officials for joining us. That completes our public agenda items. We move into private session.

Thank you. There will be more questions on that in due course. Collette, you would like to come in, followed by Fulton.

Thank you. Okay.

I will bring in Jamie Greene in a moment. First, I have a question on sentencing in relation to a person who is on bail but is subject to a curfew condition. I am interested in how you would respond to the argument that time spent on bail that is subject to a curfew condition should not be a substitute for time spent in prison as part of a custodial sentence.

Okay. Cabinet secretary, I have a couple of questions about release planning and throughcare support for prisoners. Sections 9 and 10 of the bill seek to improve release planning and throughcare support. How will the Scottish Government ensure that relevant bodies that are involved in release planning and throughcare will be resourced and that their capacity to implement the proposed changes will be sufficient?

Thank you. Do members have any other questions?

Thanks very much for that. There is the potential for there to be a significant resource implication around that. What are your views on what that resource requirement may be? What consideration should the Scottish Government be giving to how that is put in place?