Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 11 May 2022
I heard Mr Johnson and I certainly agree with him.
Help to reduce the likelihood of reoffending and increase the likelihood of making a positive contribution to communities is not always available in the way that it should be.
There will always be those for whom the only option for public safety is incarceration, but for far too many of those who are already in our overcrowded prison estate, there should be more effective alternatives. To be effective, however, community-based measures need to be properly resourced and the courts need to have confidence in them. That cannot be done on the cheap, but the alternative of prison is usually more expensive and counterproductive.
As I have said during previous debates, we have a particular problem with remand, including among those who are on remand pre-trial. We have seen little progress on that issue, and, as Pauline McNeill indicated, the court backlogs have made the situation worse. Those backlogs also undermine the confidence of the victims whose experience of our justice system is all too often a negative one.
Our justice system does not lack challenges. Further reform is needed and, in some places, it should be urgent and profound. Our FAI system, for example, is not fit for purpose and it should be overhauled, while the dual role of the Lord Advocate is no longer sustainable.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats support the broad approach that is being taken by the Scottish Government. However, too often the Government seems to be happy to legislate and stand back, put in some money and pat itself on the back, all of which might be necessary but is not sufficient to embed the meaningful and lasting reform that our justice system is crying out for. Scottish Liberal Democrats will back the Government motion and the Labour amendment, but we will continue to press ministers to deliver on their rhetoric and ambitions to create a justice system that is progressive and effective in meeting the needs of those who rely on it as well as those who work in it.