Hansard

I believe that in its approach to the bill this Parliament has done itself what Donald Dewar might have described as a modicum of credit. In a cross-party show of purpose, colleagues have been focused on doing what is right for the ultimate victims of wrongdoing—those who lose their lives, or who lose their loved ones.

However, the Parliament has not done this in a starry-eyed way. There has been no writing of blank cheques, either on our own bank account or anyone else’s. We have not simply rubber-stamped the recommendations that came from the Scottish Law Commission; still less have we taken those recommendations and loosened them. Instead, we have remembered that there is a balance to be struck and, with input from stakeholders from all quarters, we have taken a compassionate, but also a hard-headed look at the commission’s recommendations, and strengthened them where it appeared appropriate. We have sought to consider the interests of the taxpayer and the insurance policy holder, as well as the interests of the wrongfully killed and their relatives.

Of course, the bill is about money. It is about using money, as far as is possible, to put someone back into the financial position that they would have been in had the fatal injury not occurred. The bill’s financial implications were always going to be a source of contention. Some people might think that the bill gives them too little; others might think that the bill takes too much from them.

On the latter category, I am disappointed by the tone of the representations from the Forum of Scottish Claims Managers during the past few weeks. I do not have time in the debate to respond to all the forum’s complaints, but I have written to it in some detail. The forum’s estimated price tag for the bill—at least £52 million a year—appears to lack a firm foundation and is wholly out of line with other predictions that I have seen. Also, unlike the estimates that Mr Butler provided to the Finance Committee, the forum’s estimate seems not to be based on detailed assessment of real-world casework from any of its many member companies.

I am sure that members are aware that nearly six months ago the Scottish Government responded to the Finance Committee’s request for commentary on the financial data that Bill Butler had provided. The worked assessment, which has been in the public domain since then, suggested tentatively that the data indicated annual costs in the region of £4.7 million to £5.9 million. That is not an insubstantial amount, but it is hugely below the £52 million estimate of the Forum of Scottish Claims Managers.

As members of all parties said, the bill’s purpose is to provide fair compensation in an efficient manner, where death has been wrongfully caused. It is, in essence, about putting people back into the financial position that they would have been in if there had been no fatality. It is the cost of doing the right thing.

I am not persuaded by suggestions that the cost of doing the right thing is too high and that people who have the misfortune to suffer the ultimate loss should not be properly supported. The Government’s view is that even in these financially challenging times—perhaps especially in these financially challenging times—we should not be kicking people who are already down and desperate through no fault of their own. The bill will provide financial justice for the bereaved.

I am pleased to have worked with Bill Butler throughout the passage of the bill and I echo all members’ remarks about the hard work that he undertook, with his advisers, to help to pilot through a bill that was not exactly straightforward. We thank him for that effort. The Government has been pleased to play a part in helping to turn the bill into what I hope and expect will be a good piece of legislation. I thank all members of the Justice Committee, most particularly the former convener, Bill Aitken.

I support the bill. It is a good bill and this is a good day for the Scottish Parliament.

15:43