Chamber and committees

The Scottish ministers are responsible under the terms of The Parole Board (Scotland) Rules 2001 (the Rules), made under sections 20(4) and (4A) of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 (as amended), for the referral of relevant cases to the Parole Board. On the referral of a case, the Scottish ministers are required by the rules to send to the board a dossier containing any information in writing or documents which they consider to be relevant to the case, including, wherever practicable, the information and documents specified in the Schedule to the rules.Long-term prisoners, that is persons sentenced to a term of four years or more, may be released on licence after serving one-half of the sentence, if this is recommended by the Parole Board. The Parole Board makes its decisions on whether or not to recommend the early release on licence of such prisoners in private, under Part III of the rules. If the board recommends the early release of a long-term prisoner who has been sentenced to less than 10 years, the Scottish ministers are obliged, by law, to release the prisoner. In the case of a prisoner sentenced to 10 years or more, the Scottish ministers currently exercise discretion over whether or not to accept the board's recommendation. Under provisions contained in Part 4 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill it is proposed to remove that discretion so that Scottish ministers will be obliged to follow the board's recommendation in all cases.In the case of life prisoners, when the punishment part of the life sentence has expired, an oral hearing is arranged by the Parole Board, under part IV of the rules, to consider whether or not the prisoner requires to continue to be confined for the protection of the public. Hearings normally take place in the establishment in which the prisoner is detained. In the dossier of information that is sent to the board in such cases there is normally a document recording the Scottish ministers' views on whether or not the prisoner should continue to be confined; and at the oral hearing the Scottish ministers are represented, normally, by an official of the Justice Department and a representative of the Scottish Prison Service. The prisoner, who is entitled to be present at the hearing, may also be represented.Where, in the light of the information provided to it and the views expressed at the oral hearing, the Parole Board is satisfied that a life prisoner no longer requires to continue to be confined for the protection of the public, it will direct the prisoner's release on life licence. The Scottish ministers are obliged, by law, to release the prisoner on life licence.

The available information is shown in the following table. Cases involving child victims of abduction and serious assault cannot be separately identified within the data held centrally.Persons Accused of Cases Recorded¹ as Murder Involving a Child (Aged Under 16) Victim, by Sex of Accused, 1991-2000

Outcome of Proceeding	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Total accused	10	5	4	4	5	9	3	3	3	6
Charge proved	2	3	1	3	1	2	2	1	2	2
Imprisoned	2	3	-	1	1	2	2	1	2	2
Insanity, hospital order	-	-	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other2	8	2	3	1	4	7	1	2	1	4
Males accused	7	4	2	3	2	6	2	2	2	6
Charge proved	2	3	-	2	1	2	2	1	2	2
Imprisoned	2	3	-	1	1	2	2	1	2	2
Insanity, hospital order	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other2	5	1	2	1	1	4	-	1	-	4
Females accused	3	1	2	1	3	3	1	1	1	-
Charge proved	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Imprisoned	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Insanity, hospital order	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other2	3	1	1	-	3	3	1	1	1	-

Notes:1. Currently (as at 26 October 2001) recorded as homicide.2. Includes death of suspect, case pending, no proceedings, proceedings dropped and acquittals.

The judiciary is not required by law to give reasons for its decisions to grant or refuse to grant bail. In any event, applications for bail are not categorised by type of offence.The identity of the judge who considered an application for bail is retained within the records of the Scottish Court Service.

On guidance and directions to judges, I would refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28832 today. However, I understand that the Judicial Studies Committee provided comprehensive assistance to judges in their study of all aspects of the ECHR. Prosecutors received a three-day intensive course in human rights law and that included a component on bail issues.

The Executive does not give guidance or directions to the judiciary on judicial matters. In Scotland, judicial decisions on bail are governed by the relevant legislation and case law.

The latest figures are as follows:Average Duration of Appeals Against Conviction, by Main Offence, 2000

Main Offence	Number of Concluded Appeals	Average Duration of Appeal (Days)
Serious assault1	56	269
Rape	8	421
Culpable homicide	3	177
Murder	18	256
All crimes and offences	432	185

Source: SEJD criminal appeals database.Note:1. Includes serious assault and attempted murder.Data for appeals concluded in 2001 will be published on 26 September.The Lord Justice-General and Lord Justice-Clerk issued a consultation paper on 14 May 2002 setting out their proposals for reducing delays in criminal appeals. These proposals have now largely been enacted by way of an Act of Adjournal. We propose to take forward one aspect requiring primary legislation by an amendment to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.

Where an individual absconds on bail, Scottish forces will as a matter of course take steps to check whether that individual is in their area and, if so, to seek his/her apprehension. However, any resources expended as a consequence are a matter for individual forces and the information is not held centrally

Information is not readily available in the form requested. However, I understand that 120 appeals against conviction under solemn procedure from both the High Court and Sheriff Court covering a wide range of seriousness await a hearing before the Court of Criminal Appeal. As at 30 June 2002 the average waiting period for this category of appeal was 32 term weeks.The programming of business before the Court of Criminal Appeal is a matter for the Lord Justice General. He has recently introduced a number of measures to improve the management of appeals. These are set out in the Act of Adjournal (Criminal Appeals) 2002 (SSI 2002/387), made on 23 August 2002.Among the reforms is the introduction of a procedural hearing in appeals against conviction or conviction and sentence. This hearing will take place before a single judge who will consider the state of preparation of the appeal. Cases which are ready to proceed will then be allocated to an Appeal Court hearing. It is anticipated that these hearings will improve the rate at which cases proceed through the appeals procedure. Procedural hearings will be fixed for all new solemn appeals progressively over the next few months. The first diet of hearings will take place this September, with cases that are ready to proceed to a full hearing coming before the Appeal Court before the end of the year. There are no plans to increase the overall number of judges at the present time.

Decisions about the grant of bail and the factors they may or may not take into account in considering whether or not to grant bail are matters entirely for the judiciary.As to the issue of guidance or directions to the judiciary, I would refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28832 today.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28831.