Meeting of the Parliament 23 June 2015
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 in it. It follows on the heels of the corroboration debacle—a mess that the cabinet secretary has been credited with sorting out—but here we are again with the legitimate concerns and criticisms of key stakeholders, who have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the criminal justice system and the treatment of prisoners, being unceremoniously swept aside.
The bill does not end automatic early release. Its stated aims were to reduce reoffending and improve public safety, but it does neither. Its proposals are undermined by evidence and knowledge of practice that the Government has chosen to ignore. A bill that was deeply flawed to begin with has been made worse by the lack of scrutiny and the failure to allow sufficient time to consider the major amendments at stage 2.
To put the unacceptable lack of proper scrutiny in context, the Law Society of Scotland points out that the current law was enacted following two inquiries. The Scottish inquiry, under the chairmanship of Lord Kincraig, a senator of the College of Justice, conducted its deliberations over 14 months. During the same period, the Scottish Prison Service published two consultation documents, so prison reform was the subject of full debate. How ironic it is that devolution should lead to a weakening of the scrutiny, transparency and accountability of Government in Scotland.
The elephant in the room is the bill’s failure to consider short-term sentences, as prisoners who serve such sentences have the highest rates of reoffending. According to the Scottish Government’s 2013-14 figures, 602 individuals received custodial sentences for attempted murder and serious assault. A staggering 82 per cent of them were given sentences of less than four years. However, those offenders will be released automatically halfway through their sentence.
The bill does not provide the clarity and honesty in sentencing that victims and their families want and have the right to expect. The Scottish Conservatives have long called for automatic early release to be abolished for all prisoners, regardless of their crime or the length of their sentence. Based on the evidence that we heard at stage 1 and stage 2, it is impossible to allow the bill to continue its parliamentary progress in good faith.
My amendment would have provided the opportunity to examine the criminal justice system—including short-term sentencing, early release and the associated recidivism rates—in the round and to scrutinise further the other key issues that emerged in evidence to ensure that they were properly debated and scrutinised. The fact that it was rejected marks a low point in the Parliament’s scrutiny process, which is already attracting widespread and justified criticism.
For those reasons, the Scottish Conservatives will not support the bill.
16:14