Meeting of the Parliament 18 November 2014
I will come to that point specifically, if Elaine Murray will allow me to develop my argument.
Furthermore, the cabinet secretary has emphasised—as does the motion—that the new drink-drive limit brings Scotland into line with most of Europe. Despite that, during the consultation phase and the Justice Committee’s evidence sessions, the Scottish Government failed to make it clear that although penalties for drink driving in Europe vary widely, they tend to be less severe than those in the UK. In France, for example, the penalty for a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of between 50mg and 80mg is usually a fine, although drivers who are well over the limit face stiffer penalties, including a more substantial fine and a licence suspension of up to three years.
In the UK, the penalties for driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit, which is currently 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, are set by Westminster. They include six months’ imprisonment, a fine of up to £5,000 and/or a driving ban for at least one year. Those penalties are stiff, so I welcome the Labour amendment, which calls for an education and media campaign to accompany the reduction in the limit to cover the morning-after effects of alcohol. That should help to ensure that an otherwise law-abiding individual does not unwittingly find themselves just marginally over the new legal limit, as a result of which they are criminalised, which could have a far-reaching adverse impact on their livelihood.
The Scottish National Party has made it quite clear that it thinks that the power to change the drink-driving penalties should be devolved to Holyrood, yet, as of last week, no attempt had been made to work with or even to consult Westminster justice ministers on that important issue. As a result, bizarrely, drivers who live in England but who travel in Scotland and who are over the 50mg limit but under the 80mg limit potentially face severe penalties for a crime that has no statutory basis south of the border.
The amendment in my name seeks to achieve two things. First, given past events, it calls on Police Scotland to enforce the new drink-drive limit proportionately rather than as part of a target-setting exercise. Secondly, it encourages debate about the application of penalties for drink driving in Scotland. To date, it is evident that the SNP Government has not fully thought through the full implications of a measure that, if properly and proportionately implemented, has the potential to prevent the misery that can result from drink driving and to save lives.
I move amendment S4M-11567.2, to insert after “roads safer”:
“; considers that the application and penalties imposed should be proportionate,”.
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.