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Meeting of the Parliament 13 June 2012

13 Jun 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Victims and Witnesses (Improving Services)

Macdonald, Lewis Lab North East Scotland Watch on SPTV

Christine Grahame’s apology is, of course, acknowledged and accepted. I thank her for that helpful intervention, which I am sure will not cost me too much speaking time.

We believe that measures of that kind can and should be taken and that we can build on the proposals already included in the consultation document. For example, it is laudable that the consultation document talks about calling on public bodies to

“set clear standards of service for victims and witnesses.”

That is good, but it will be effective only if mechanisms are put in place to ensure that it happens. That is why Labour proposed that there should be a victims commissioner and a charter of victims’ rights, which were among the few proposals from our manifesto not included in the consultation document.

Our approach is to make the protection of victims the responsibility of an independent champion. Unlike other parts of the criminal justice system, their entire focus would be on the rights of victims. We believe that that is the right approach.

If ministers will not take our word for it, perhaps they will listen to Peter Morris, whose sister Claire was murdered by her husband, Malcolm Webster, in Aberdeenshire in 1994. Mr Morris has won broad support for his campaign to improve victims’ rights, most famously getting the name of Claire’s killer removed from her tombstone in an Aberdeenshire cemetery.

Mr Morris believes there should be a single point of contact for victims and their families from the time a crime is committed to the end of the court proceedings, and I believe that a victims commissioner would meet that requirement. Mr Morris also has strong views about compensation of victims. A victim surcharge to pay towards the cost of supporting victims is a good idea, mirroring as it does Labour’s proposals for a victims fund. However, to make it work, courts must be given the power to enforce payment of the levy and mechanisms must be put in place to ensure that the money that is raised is used to support victims, is not swallowed up in administrative budgets and does not displace money that would otherwise come to victim support organisations from Government.

We therefore welcome many of the specific commitments that are in the consultation document, but we believe that more could be done and we look forward to working with ministers and other parties on getting the detail right.

However, we are clear that victims should not have to wait another five years for those good ideas to be put into action. That is why we lodged our amendment, which seeks a clear timetable for the introduction of the necessary legislation. I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for indicating at the outset that the Government is happy to accept it.

We believe that developing support for the victims of crime must be a process, not an event. Just as there is no magic solution to reoffending, so there is no one action that will make things right for those who have been abused, attacked, robbed or violated or who have lost a loved one as a result of crime, or for those forced to witness such crimes.

As Peter Morris and thousands of others will testify, early and on-going action is what victims and witnesses need to see, and that is what we call for today.

I move amendment S4M-03278.2, to insert at end:

“, and calls on the Scottish Government to set a timetable for the introduction of the necessary legislation.”

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Meeting of the Parliament 13 June 2012

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