Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 16 March 2011
16 Mar 2011 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill
I am grateful for the opportunity to outline the Government’s approach to the bill.
In one unfortunate respect, the bill is timely, in that the incidence of domestic abuse has been highlighted recently following old firm games. Domestic abuse is a stain on Scottish society generally. We need to ensure that our action to tackle domestic abuse is effective in a wide range of areas, including those that the bill covers, such as civil protection orders. Indeed, that is why the Government has been supportive of most aspects of the bill, albeit that we had some concerns that were shared by others.
Rhoda Grant mentioned section 2, on legal aid. We were concerned about potential costs and about how the section would work in practice. I am thinking of multicrave actions in which protection orders and other outcomes such as divorce or contact and residence are sought.
The Justice Committee also raised concerns in its stage 1 report. It concluded:
“the Committee does not support section 2 which in effect would make legal aid free to all for applications to a civil court for an interdict with a power of arrest, or a non-harassment order, where domestic abuse was involved. In the view of the Committee, this provision would create an inequality of arms between the pursuer and the defender. Additionally, the Committee is not persuaded that domestic abuse cases should be prioritised above other cases for the purposes of legal aid.”
Although the Government opposed section 2 and it has been removed from the bill, I recognise the point that Rhoda Grant made. She alluded to the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s comprehensive statement on how it deals with legal aid applications that relate to domestic abuse. In addition, through the Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010, the board has been given a duty to monitor the availability and accessibility of legal services and to advise ministers accordingly. Indeed, the measure was incorporated in the 2010 act at my instigation. To help it to implement its new role, the board is setting up an access to legal services reference group. Scottish Women’s Aid is being invited to join the group as a core member.
In her opening remarks, Rhoda Grant stated that in certain cases people still face barriers to access to justice. I give her an undertaking that if any such cases are drawn to our attention we will study the circumstances most carefully and explore with the Scottish Legal Aid Board whether more needs to be done. I must point out, however, that the Government has extended the availability of civil legal aid on financial grounds to around 50 per cent of the population—and we are proud of having done so, given that our priority in that regard has been to extend access to justice.
Another area of concern related to the definition of domestic abuse in section 4, which came in for some criticism. We shared concerns that it was too wide and agreed with its removal at stage 2. However, that move raised questions about how best to describe interdicts covered by the bill, particularly in relation to interdicts protecting boyfriends and girlfriends. As I said a moment ago, the bill now refers to people in intimate personal relationships, and we do not consider that such relationships need be sexual.
We welcome the bill. The Government will monitor the bill’s impact; improve its information on civil protection orders to tackle domestic abuse; and continue to examine all aspects of our work on tackling domestic abuse in our efforts to remove this stain from Scottish society.
15:36
In one unfortunate respect, the bill is timely, in that the incidence of domestic abuse has been highlighted recently following old firm games. Domestic abuse is a stain on Scottish society generally. We need to ensure that our action to tackle domestic abuse is effective in a wide range of areas, including those that the bill covers, such as civil protection orders. Indeed, that is why the Government has been supportive of most aspects of the bill, albeit that we had some concerns that were shared by others.
Rhoda Grant mentioned section 2, on legal aid. We were concerned about potential costs and about how the section would work in practice. I am thinking of multicrave actions in which protection orders and other outcomes such as divorce or contact and residence are sought.
The Justice Committee also raised concerns in its stage 1 report. It concluded:
“the Committee does not support section 2 which in effect would make legal aid free to all for applications to a civil court for an interdict with a power of arrest, or a non-harassment order, where domestic abuse was involved. In the view of the Committee, this provision would create an inequality of arms between the pursuer and the defender. Additionally, the Committee is not persuaded that domestic abuse cases should be prioritised above other cases for the purposes of legal aid.”
Although the Government opposed section 2 and it has been removed from the bill, I recognise the point that Rhoda Grant made. She alluded to the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s comprehensive statement on how it deals with legal aid applications that relate to domestic abuse. In addition, through the Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010, the board has been given a duty to monitor the availability and accessibility of legal services and to advise ministers accordingly. Indeed, the measure was incorporated in the 2010 act at my instigation. To help it to implement its new role, the board is setting up an access to legal services reference group. Scottish Women’s Aid is being invited to join the group as a core member.
In her opening remarks, Rhoda Grant stated that in certain cases people still face barriers to access to justice. I give her an undertaking that if any such cases are drawn to our attention we will study the circumstances most carefully and explore with the Scottish Legal Aid Board whether more needs to be done. I must point out, however, that the Government has extended the availability of civil legal aid on financial grounds to around 50 per cent of the population—and we are proud of having done so, given that our priority in that regard has been to extend access to justice.
Another area of concern related to the definition of domestic abuse in section 4, which came in for some criticism. We shared concerns that it was too wide and agreed with its removal at stage 2. However, that move raised questions about how best to describe interdicts covered by the bill, particularly in relation to interdicts protecting boyfriends and girlfriends. As I said a moment ago, the bill now refers to people in intimate personal relationships, and we do not consider that such relationships need be sexual.
We welcome the bill. The Government will monitor the bill’s impact; improve its information on civil protection orders to tackle domestic abuse; and continue to examine all aspects of our work on tackling domestic abuse in our efforts to remove this stain from Scottish society.
15:36
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Alex Fergusson)
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-8136, in the name of Rhoda Grant, on the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill. I repeat that we are very tight ...
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
It gives me great pleasure to open the debate. The bill has taken a long time to bring forward, and there were times when I thought that we would never get h...
The Minister for Community Safety (Fergus Ewing)
SNP
I am grateful for the opportunity to outline the Government’s approach to the bill.In one unfortunate respect, the bill is timely, in that the incidence of d...
Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I join all those who have commended Rhoda Grant for bringing before Parliament this important legislation to tackle domestic abuse. She can be proud of her w...
Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
Instances of domestic abuse in Scotland remain stubbornly—indeed, disgracefully—high. There were 51,926 incidents of domestic abuse in the last recorded year...
Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD)
LD
The bill addresses a serious matter to which the Parliament has devoted quite a bit of attention over the years since 1999 and which calls for serious politi...
Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I begin where Robert Brown left off by saying how much I admire the work that Rhoda Grant has undertaken on the bill. It is not easy to take through any memb...
Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to support the motion in the name of my Labour colleague Rhoda Grant. I offer her my unreserved congratulations on bringing to the ...
Nigel Don (North East Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I congratulate Bill Butler on that exposition of what Parliament is about, with which of course I entirely concur. I also congratulate Rhoda Grant on introdu...
Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD)
LD
Like all other members who have spoken in the debate this afternoon, I congratulate Rhoda Grant on getting the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill through to stag...
Bill Aitken
Con
I thank Mike Pringle for his kind remarks, which I appreciated.I hope that when the bill is passed, Rhoda Grant does not feel that because of what happened t...
James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab)
Lab
I, too, congratulate Rhoda Grant on what I am sure will be the passing of the bill later this afternoon. As Mike Pringle said, navigating a member’s bill thr...
Fergus Ewing
SNP
Maureen Macmillan was referred to earlier in proceedings, and I am delighted to see that she is in the public gallery witnessing the debate. I recall from st...
Rhoda Grant
Lab
I thank all members who took part in the debate for their kind words—in fact, their words were so kind that when Roseanna Cunningham came into the chamber sh...