Criminal Justice Committee 11 June 2025
I understand Ms McNeill’s point, but if I go back to stage 1, the evidence from the Crown Office emphasised that its expectations for vulnerable and non-vulnerable civilian witnesses were that, when attending remotely, they would do so either from a Scottish Courts and Tribunals System remote site or from another designated site, whether that is a Victim Support Scotland facility or a designated site such as a bairns’ house. The Crown Office has confirmed that that remains its position.
I know that Ms McNeill did not quite ask this, but witnesses are not routinely giving evidence from their homes. In fact, that is exceptionally rare—I have been told that that is vanishingly rare. That would happen when a witness has a medical condition—perhaps agoraphobia—or is medically unfit. Before the emergency legislation, there was always scope to make an application to the court to enable such an arrangement, if that was crucial. The court would have to specifically sanction any such arrangement. That was the case previously, and it remains the case under the emergency legislation and the bill.
Ms McNeill has spoken about the fact that we continue to invest in evidence by commissioner suites for pre-recorded evidence. She is correct that witnesses must still take an oath and that the Crown Office sends guidance to witnesses. That is about ensuring that people understand the solemnity of the proceedings.
10:00The guidance is quite detailed, so I will not read out a lot of extracts from it, but I can perhaps ensure that the committee receives a copy. It includes information such as that the procurator fiscal will inform the witness via telephone when it is their time to join. There are very clear expectations that people must be heard and that they need to be able to see the proceedings.