Meeting of the Parliament 21 June 2023
Before I speak to my amendments in this group, I would like to thank the victim support organisations and others who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the voices of victims and survivors are heard in this process. I appreciate that we will not all agree on everything today, but I am grateful to them for their insight and expertise. I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests.
Amendments 15, 16 and 21 focus on the new victim safety element of the proposed bail test. Throughout the scrutiny process, I have listened carefully to the voices of victims organisations, which rightly wish to ensure that the court has the fullest possible information about victims’ safety concerns at the time of making a bail decision, including decisions on special conditions of bail.
15:00Amendment 15 aims to strengthen that area. In particular, it would add to the court’s general power to seek further information that is relevant to the bail decision from the prosecutor, the legal representative of the accused or, as amended by the bill, justice social work by expressly enabling the court to ask the prosecutor to provide it with information on the risk of harm to the complainer.
Amendment 15 would make clear the situations in which victim safety is a relevant consideration in a case before the court, such as cases of domestic abuse or sexual offending. The court could then ask the prosecutor for additional information to help it to make a determination on bail. The amendment would also serve to emphasise to the court the importance of the victim safety element of the new bail test and of being as fully informed as possible when making bail decisions.
Amendments 16 and 21 are consequential on amendment 15. Amendment 16 is a technical amendment that will be necessary if amendment 15 is accepted. It would make minor and technical amendments to section 1(3)(c) to reflect that section 23B(7) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 will no longer immediately follow section 23B(6). Amendment 21 would amend the definitional power in section 2(2)(c) of the bill to ensure that the definitions of complainer harm and psychological harm also apply for the purpose of the new section 23B(6A) that I am proposing to be inserted into the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. I ask members to support amendments 15, 16 and 21.