Meeting of the Parliament 07 October 2025
I thank everyone for their constructive engagement on the bill and for their remarks this afternoon. In particular, I thank the criminal justice spokespeople from the Opposition parties, the members of the Criminal Justice Committee and the committee’s convener, Audrey Nicoll. It is indeed a busy committee and its members have my sympathy.
I note the views of Liam Kerr when he spoke about this being a two-part bill. There are, of course, pros and cons to that approach. Like Liam McArthur, I fall on the side of pragmatism. I am always looking to get things done, particularly given where we are in the parliamentary cycle.
I feel that there has been significant scrutiny, but that is perhaps just because of where I sit. I think that the scrutiny, particularly on part 1, has been detailed, and we have certainly been in the weeds of court procedure and process. I am pleased that the bill now has broad agreement and consensus on its aims, and I am particularly pleased that it looks as though the bill will be passed when Parliament votes on it this evening.
The bill will deliver the necessary legislative underpinning that will ensure that our justice system can continue to meet the demands that are placed on it. It will provide a solid foundation to ensure that we learn the lessons following domestic abuse-related deaths, improve services and, ultimately, better protect victims. Justice agencies and victim support organisations strongly support the temporary measures that the bill will make permanent, and they have been clear that those are essential features of a modern system.
I remind members that significant progress has been made in reducing court backlogs. The total number of scheduled trials that are outstanding has fallen by more than 60 per cent since January 2022, and we have reached the milestone of returning to a position where the number of outstanding scheduled trials across all criminal business types is below 20,000. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service considers that to be a manageable level of workload for the justice system.
However, I acknowledge that we need to give focused and acute attention to the increased demand, particularly on the High Court. The nature of that business is changing, even though the overall volume has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Initiatives such as the £33 million investment in the digital evidence sharing capability that is being rolled out will support the bill’s provisions on digital productions.
I take exception to the statement that shoplifting has, in effect, been decriminalised in this country. I am rightly notified of every death in custody and I can advise members that, as I shared with some colleagues earlier, there was one such death of a person who was in custody for shoplifting times seven, so I really cannot—