Chamber and committees

A person is on life licence until their death. It is not an automatic right to terminate the supervision element of the licence conditions. Supervising officers may submit requests to do so after a period of 10 years or more has elapsed. Termination of supervision will not occur without a full Risk Assessment being carried out. The Parole Board will make these decisions on a case by case basis. However two licence conditions will always remain -

• that they are of good behaviour and keep the peace; and
• they inform the local authority if they are arrested or questioned by the police.

The Parole Board can reinstate the full licence or recall the person back to prison if they do not adhere to the conditions.

The independent jury research commissioned by the Scottish Government is due to be published on Wednesday 9 October 2019.

The Scottish Government is planning to host a launch event for the research on that day, with attendees invited from the legal profession, third sector, justice organisations, the Justice Committee, defence agents, and other key stakeholders.

After publication the Scottish Government will engage widely to seek views on the findings and any implications for future criminal justice reforms.

The Equally Safe Multi-Agency Centre (ESMAC) in Edinburgh will bring together experts from child and adult protection, health, police and social work, to provide age-appropriate, wrap-around care for children, young people and adults who have been a victim of rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse or other forms of gender based violence. This ambitious project is backed by £2.6m of Scottish Government funding.

The ESMAC Steering Group is chaired by NHS Lothian, who are responsible for overseeing the project and keeping the timescales under review. A phased approach to the development of the service will likely see the service commence in Spring 2020.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

Over the period covered, in the absence of a formal process, no records were kept. However, SPS officials have in the past met informally with victims and/or their families.

More recently, SPS has been working closely with Victim Support Scotland (VSS) to put in place an agreed approach which facilitates dialogue and engagement with victims and families and which dovetails with the support services offered more generally by VSS.

In April 2019, that collaboration led to the launch of a new approach. Since that time 20 life sentence prisoners have become eligible for consideration for temporary release 9 of whom had victims registered with the Victim Notification Scheme, of these, 7 expressed an interest in making representations, with one electing to respond in writing and the other 2 by way of meetings.

As part of the development of our Restorative Justice Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/restorative-justice-action-plan/ , which was published in June 2019, we undertook a survey seeking evidence on the current use of restorative justice across Scotland. The survey found provision to be inconsistent, with limited opportunities for adults to take part.

This survey, alongside extensive engagement with stakeholders across the justice sector, directly informed our vision set out in the Action Plan to have restorative justice available across Scotland to all those who wish to access it, and at a time that is appropriate to the people and cases involved. The Plan also explains the steps we will take to achieve this vision.

The day to day delivery of policing, and operational decisions about the allocation of policing resources across Scotland, are a matter for the Chief Constable, under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). However, the Scottish Government is assured that Police Scotland and the SPA are committed to delivering a high level of service to Scotland's rural communities. Police Scotland and the SPA's ten year strategy, 'Serving a Changing Scotland' recognises the distinct needs of rural and remote communities. This is reflected in the current Annual Police Plan (2019-20) which commits Police Scotland to 'implement local policing approaches, aligned to demand, reflecting the differing needs of rural, remote, island and urban communities'.

Police Scotland has a dedicated Rural Crime team, and chairs the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime - a multi-agency group committed to tackling crime in Scotland's rural communities.

As required by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, the SPA carries out an Annual Review to assess all aspects of Police Scotland's performance. The SPA Review of Policing for 2018-19 will be laid before Parliament in the coming months. As part of the Review process the SPA will seek feedback from all local authorities in Scotland.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPS does not utilise a system of sanction and reward as a means to encourage engagement with drug treatment. SPS views problem drug use through a public health lens and adopts a therapeutic approach in dealing with the issue of drug misuse.

Prisoner healthcare is the responsibility of the NHS and addiction services in prisons are provided in line with local NHS Board strategies. All clinical addiction treatment and support is delivered by NHS Health Boards.

All individuals entering prison are assessed for healthcare needs, including addictions. Where concerns are raised in relation to substance misuse during a person’s time in SPS care, then a referral for NHS services will be made.

Our Restorative Justice Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/restorative-justice-action-plan/ , published in June, sets a desired outcome of having high quality restorative justice services delivered by trained facilitators.

The Plan also sets out a suite of actions to deliver this outcome, including commissioning a national training needs analysis by Spring 2020, which will identify the skills required and the scale of the requirement for training.

Our vision, as set out in the Restorative Justice Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/restorative-justice-action-plan/ , published in June, is to have restorative justice (RJ) available across Scotland to all those who wish to access it, and at a time that is appropriate to the people and cases involved.

The Plan also explains that RJ is offered as a further option in how justice can be experienced across the communities of Scotland.

In line with the Scottish Government Guidance for the Delivery of Restorative Justice https://www.gov.scot/publications/guidance-delivery-restorative-justice-scotland/ , risk assessments must be carried out throughout the RJ process and will take full cognisance of the role of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) as the independent public prosecution service for Scotland. In that respect, RJ will not impinge on any ongoing criminal proceedings. Decisions relating to the prosecution or diversion of a case from prosecution are matters solely for COPFS.

Information on the number officers (a) on long-term leave and (b) paid wholly or in part by ports, airports or local authorities is not held centrally.

First published as Official Statistics in December 2008, Police Officer Quarterly Strength Scotland (POQS) was designed to measure the implementation of the manifesto commitment to increase officer numbers by 1,000. As such, figures include all police officers appointed by the Chief Constable of Police Scotland and senior police officers appointed by the Scottish Police Authority, excluding those on career breaks.

The latest edition of POQS was published on 6 August 2019, and reports that there were 17,259 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland on 30 June 2019, up 87 police officers (+0.5%) in the last year, from 30 June 2018 and up 1,025 police officers (+6.3%) from the position at 31 March 2007.

Further information on POQS can be found in the Statistical Release Notes that accompany each publication, available online at the following link:

https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PublicationPoliceStrength/POQS2019Q2 .