Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 23 June 2015
23 Jun 2015 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Bill
No. If the member does not mind, I have some progress to make.
That in turn has proportionality implications that may lead to potential human rights challenges.
The Government has not made the case as to why it has rejected a proportionate approach. Professor Fergus McNeill highlighted the extent of that problem when he pointed out that, under the current fixed period proposals,
“if a person is sentenced to five years, 90 per cent of their custodial sentence would be in prison. However, if a person is sentenced to 10 years, that increases to 95 per cent”.—[Official Report, Justice Committee, 27 May 2015; c 3.]
Furthermore, at present the demand for rehabilitation programmes already outstrips supply, and that demand will almost certainly increase, which will lead to an inevitable challenge under ECHR.
To quote the somewhat damning indictment of key stakeholders, the bill
“will not end automatic early release, it will not reduce reoffending and it will not improve public safety in the longer term; indeed, it is likely to jeopardise both public safety and reintegration.”
In those circumstances, it would be foolhardy to support the bill.
15:44In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-13597, in the name of Michael Matheson, on the Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Bill. 15:22
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Michael Matheson)
SNP
I welcome the opportunity to open the stage 3 debate on the Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Bill. First, I offer my thanks to the Justice Committee...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Con
I call Dr Elaine Murray. You have seven minutes. As we are now quite tight for time, please make it a pretty exact seven minutes. 15:32
Elaine Murray (Dumfriesshire) (Lab)
Lab
The term “ending automatic early release” has been used so often over the years that its meaning has not been questioned. That was the case until the Justice...
Christian Allard (North East Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Elaine Murray
Lab
No, sorry. I do not really have much time. In the ministerial statement prior to this debate, Fergus Ewing reminded us that irrational decisions can result ...
John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Ind)
Ind
Will the member give way?
Elaine Murray
Lab
I am sorry, but I do not have much time. The Government has not been able to provide evidence that a six-month supervisory sentence for all long-term prison...
Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I pay tribute to the Justice Committee clerks for their hard work and to the witnesses who provided such vital and insightful evidence at stage 1 and stage 2...
Christian Allard
SNP
Will the member give way?
Margaret Mitchell
Con
If Mr Allard does not mind, I will make progress. We are now in a situation in which the legitimate concerns and criticisms of stakeholders, which range fro...
Christian Allard
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Margaret Mitchell
Con
No. If the member does not mind, I have some progress to make. That in turn has proportionality implications that may lead to potential human rights challen...
Roderick Campbell (North East Fife) (SNP)
SNP
We must acknowledge that the bill has moved since stage 1 and that it operates in the context of the 2007 and 2010 legislation in the area, as yet to be impl...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
I have a little bit of time in hand at this stage. 15:48
Graeme Pearson (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to speak in this afternoon’s debate. However, I am disappointed because introducing the legislation in this way is a missed opportunity. Rod Ca...
Christian Allard
SNP
It is important to understand what the academics told the committee. They said that cold release is the problem. A vast amount of cold release is happening. ...
Graeme Pearson
Lab
I am grateful for that intervention. I accept that the days of cold release should be history. Unfortunately, they will not be. Over the past few months, I h...
Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD)
LD
It is important to remember that automatic early release is a management device. It was introduced as a safety valve to ease the pressure caused by escalatin...
John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Ind)
Ind
The policy memorandum talks about helping to reduce offending and improve public safety, and it is important that we have an evidence base for that. People h...
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
SNP
Much has already been said about this short bill, so I will try not to repeat too much. I think that we all agree that ending automatic early release is, in ...
Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
The core principle behind the bill is recognised across the chamber: automatic early release of prisoners does not engender confidence in our criminal justic...
John Finnie
Ind
Will Jayne Baxter give way?
Jayne Baxter
Lab
No. We must ensure that each offender’s risk profile is central to the debate about whether they are released early. For those who have committed serious of...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
We come to the closing speeches. I call Margaret Mitchell. 16:10
Margaret Mitchell
Con
Oh, it is me. I thought I heard “followed by”. If the decision to pass the bill is taken at 4.30 pm, the Parliament will be able to take absolutely no pride...
Hugh Henry (Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
Lab
I cannot find any fault in the idea that we should end automatic early release. Victims, and indeed the general public, deserve some clarity from our legal s...
Christian Allard
SNP
Will the member give way?
Hugh Henry
Lab
No, thank you. Roderick Campbell criticised Elaine Murray, saying that there was no evidence for her amendment. That was echoed by Christine Grahame, who sa...
Michael Matheson
SNP
I have listened with interest to the issues and points raised, although some of them were echoes of concerns that were raised at stage 1 of the bill. I said ...