Meeting of the Parliament 11 February 2016
It is perhaps worth reflecting on the history of the bill, which was born from the commission on women offenders report in particular, and also the Audit Scotland report, as Margaret Mitchell mentioned. It is appropriate that we are debating the bill in the same week as we heard the justice secretary give a further progress report on the implementation of Dame Elish Angiolini’s recommendations and make an important announcement on Cornton Vale. Community justice Scotland might not be quite the body that Dame Elish anticipated and it might not be able to commission, provide and manage adult offender services, but we should remember that there was insufficient support for a national model at the consultation stage.
We should also remember that improved outcomes require local input. I believe that encouraging a presumption against shorter sentences is very much at the forefront of Government thinking, along with keeping women out of prison. We heard important evidence about the prison estate for women in committee this week.
In the committee, we heard a lot of evidence at stage 1 about the importance of alternatives to prosecution. Community justice must offer a credible alternative to the criminal justice system. We need to build on initiatives that work already and encourage local initiatives, while recognising the need for outcomes to be monitored at a national level and evaluated in a consistent manner.
As is well known, the bill does not cover primary prevention—that is, stopping offending in the first place—but I am heartened by the minister’s comments on the link between primary, secondary and tertiary prevention being covered in guidance. Of course, the bill covers subsequent behaviour, and its success will be measured by the extent to which it prevents future or further offending.
The relationship between community justice Scotland and community justice partners is important, but I am not sure that we can glean much from the bill as to how that will work in practice, other than to stress that it is meant to be non-hierarchical. There must be reports, but community justice Scotland will certainly miss a trick if it becomes bogged down in annual reports, as Dame Elish Angiolini hinted when she gave evidence to the committee at stage 1.
Whether the bill will succeed in reducing a cluttered landscape appears arguable. I have come to the view that, given the number of parties that are involved in community justice, that is quite problematic. However, community justice Scotland needs to establish a rapport with local community justice partners, to demonstrate leadership and to offer appropriate assistance and advice. There should be a relationship based on mutual support to achieve agreed outcomes.
I hope that the new set-up will recognise the important role of the third sector, and I welcome the Government’s responsiveness at stage 2 and earlier this afternoon. We need to ensure that the promised national strategy is developed with full input from not only the third sector but local government. It would be good to allay the concerns of COSLA, if at all possible, about what the new set-up will involve.
The new strategy needs to improve public understanding and, as Alison McInnes indicated at stage 2, it is also important to improve access to services such as housing. Discouraging reoffending will be made all the more difficult if there are inadequate attempts to reintegrate people in the community.
It will no doubt be argued that, for the new arrangements to succeed, they must be adequately resourced. I agree but I hope that, over time, significant resources that go into the prison system can be diverted for better use in community justice.
This is an important bill. I wish it well on reaching the statute book and I congratulate the Government, stakeholders and other members in the chamber on the work that they have undertaken to make it the legislation that it is today.
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