Hansard

I thank you very much for your kind introduction, convener, and I thank members of the committee for inviting me to speak in this legacy hearing.As members would expect, I am a touch disappointed that this will be the last hurrah for my bill, at least in this parliamentary session, but I stress that I understand that that is not the committee’s fault in any way. I hope that, post 5 May, more streamlined procedures will allow more members’ bills to be considered in the next session.The main objective of my bill is to promote and safeguard the interests of victims and witnesses and project them to the heart of the criminal justice system. The objective is to have a champion who ensures that the needs of victims and witnesses are met. Being pro-victim does not, of course, make me or anyone else anti-offender. I do not believe in any way that this is a zero-sum game.The champion must have a high profile and be very difficult to ignore, and they must ensure that the needs of victims and witnesses are centre stage. In a sense, I think that I have seen the future. I have met the victims champion for England and Wales, Sara Payne, on two occasions at Westminster over the past couple of years, and I have met Louise Casey, who is the Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses for England and Wales, in the Ministry of Justice. I have also taken part in a videoconference with one of the four victims commissioners for Northern Ireland.My motivation has two important elements. First, I have been inspired by the valuable work that Victim Support Scotland and other voluntary organisations such as Scottish Women’s Aid conduct throughout Scotland to support victims and witnesses. Indeed, it was Victim Support Scotland’s manifesto commitment in 2007 to have a victims commissioner that inspired me to take the bill forward. There is also my experience in the voluntary sector, where I worked as an assistant director for a national charity for two years.Secondly, I have been greatly affected by the experiences of constituents who have been forced into the criminal justice system through no fault of their own and have been left hurt, confused and angry. I will give one example. I recently saw a young woman constituent who had, with her daughter, been awakened in the middle of the night by the noise of petrol being poured through their letterbox. They escaped the inferno that the house became purely because neighbours found a ladder outside, and they were able to escape as the house literally went up in flames around them. They thought that the court was another ordeal—another cycle in their sense of humiliation—and that they were bit players in a drama in which they had no script.It is true that the situation of victims and witnesses in Scotland has greatly improved as a result of a range of initiatives such as the victims strategy, the use of victim statements and the victim notification scheme. I recognise that, but the point is that, although improvements have been made, a great deal more needs to be done. A number of important and effective voluntary organisations work in the interests of victims and witnesses, but there is no one co-ordinating voice, and no one has the statutory power to examine failures. The gap is between victims and victims organisations, and the Government.Can we say that every relevant authority is meeting the requirements of the existing legislation to protect victims and witnesses and that there is a good balance of power between those who work in the interests of victims and witnesses, and the criminal justice system? A commissioner would enhance the work of existing organisations and would take things a step further to ensure that the needs of victims and witnesses cannot be ignored or be simply an afterthought. They should be central to the justice system.I mentioned the Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses for England and Wales, Louise Casey. In giving evidence to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee in November last year, she said that her role as victims commissioner was“to challenge the whole of the Criminal Justice System to do right by victims and witnesses.”That is the intention of my bill.The commissioner would be responsible for championing the rights of victims and raising awareness of their situation, and, of course, they would work with voluntary organisations, politicians, the police, the criminal justice system and civil servants to build a fairer and just system that puts victims’ needs first. It is important that victims and witnesses are protected from uncaring bureaucracy that is often unintentionally hurtful and damaging at a time of great suffering. The convener, as a lawyer, will know well that witnesses suffer trauma, too. Some 40 per cent of witnesses are victims, and many offenders are victims as well, of course, but, alas, time does not allow me to explore that matter in detail.The bill includes a range of functions that would give the commissioner the flexibility to consult victims and witnesses and the organisations that work with them, so as to prioritise areas of work. Furthermore, I believe that the role of the commissioner would be developed greatly by the appointee.It is not for me to identify all the priority areas at the outset—the commissioner should decide what is most important. However, the bill would allow the commissioner to carry out a range of activity and to respond to current challenges.My commitment to the bill has led me to introduce it at a time of great financial pressures for all public services. I recognise the current financial climate, but I believe that the appointment of the commissioner is an important one that can be secured in a cost-effective way. I have set out a structure that I think would minimise costs. There might even be scope to reduce the costs further if the commissioner had the opportunity to share premises and resources with an existing commission or commissioner.I recognise recent legislative developments, and I have drafted the bill in line with the latest governance and accountability requirements for commissions and commissioners.I have introduced the Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Bill because it is essential that Scotland has an independent commissioner to champion the rights of victims and witnesses. The role of the commissioner is not to run services; it is not to duplicate the work of the third sector; and it is not to be a competitor for funding. The proposed role is that of an independent champion, operating between victims, service providers and the Government, working outside but looking in. The commissioner is to be a voice; the role will provide a new road map for victims, reflecting the new European rights as covered by the Stockholm programme. It is a move to a system change so that, in Louise Casey’s words, victims will no longer be“the poor relation of the criminal justice system”.