Chamber and committees

We are just coming up to our end time for this panel, and Jamie and Rona want to come in. We will come back to you if we have time, if you do not mind.

It was worth a try.

A very good morning to everybody and welcome to the third meeting in 2023 of the Criminal Justice Committee.

Before we start our meeting today, I want to pay tribute on behalf of the committee to the firefighters who were tackling the blaze earlier this week at the former Jenners store in Edinburgh. I wish all of those who have been injured a speedy recovery. Our thoughts are with them, their families and the staff of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Our first item of business is an oral evidence session on the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill. We have two panels. On our first panel, we have John Watt from the Parole Board for Scotland; Mark McSherry from the Risk Management Authority; and Jim Kerr, interim deputy chief executive, Scottish Prison Service—welcome to you all.

I refer members to papers 1 and 2. I intend to allow up to 60 minutes for this evidence session. As time is tight, I will go straight to questions. As ever, I ask for questions and responses to be fairly succinct.

I will come to Mark McSherry first, on release from prison, which is covered in part 2 of the bill. In respect of certain higher-tariff offenders, risk assessment and risk management are already well established and in place through, for example, multi-agency public protection arrangements. What are your views on how the provisions in the bill may impact on existing risk management and risk assessment arrangements?

Thank you—that is helpful. John Watt, do you have anything to add on that?

Sadly, I will have to bring the session to a close. I thank the witnesses very much indeed. I apologise for my earlier lapse in concentration, which was highly unprofessional, but I will blame it on the late night in the chamber last night. If members have any follow-up questions, we will write to the witnesses.

We will have a short suspension to allow our witnesses to leave.

Our second panel today consists of Kenny Donnelly from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and David Fraser, who is executive director of court operations with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. A warm welcome to both of you.

We will move straight to questions. I intend to allow around 75 minutes for the panel. I will go first to David Fraser, on the issue of grounds for refusing bail. The Crown Office’s submission looks at that in some detail. It has been suggested that the concept of public safety should be defined in the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill. Do you think that it would be helpful to have a definition of that? What should that cover? What elements should be included?

Does anybody else want to come in?

Okay. I will leave it at that. I think that other members will be interested in probing the specific issue of public safety a little more.

That is helpful. I have a question about a very practical issue, which came up during the committee’s visit to Glasgow sheriff court last week. Is there order in a custody court list or is it quite random?

We are on time, so I will allow Russell Findlay to ask a quick question, after which Jamie Greene wants to clarify a point. He has promised me that he will be even quicker.