Meeting of the Parliament 01 December 2015
I agree with the member on that. I would be very concerned if that was not stated in the bill.
A similar lack of definition is cited by opponents of the proposed new offences of wilful neglect and ill treatment levelled at healthcare professionals and organisations, although as those terms are already established in Scots law, I do not see that as a real problem.
The Law Society of Scotland supports the policy intent of part 3 but considers that the offences may be unnecessary, as such actions are covered under existing common law. The Law Society is also concerned that the introduction of the new offences may deter people from entering the social care professions and so recommends that if the legislation goes forward, the offences should state that actual injury, either physical or psychological, must be a prerequisite of any criminal action. That, it is felt, would be a reasonable way of creating a sensible distinction between cases of poor care and cases of criminal neglect. I expect to hear more on that from the Law Society at stage 2.
I am aware that in the time allocated to me, I have just skated over or ignored many of the important proposals in the bill, which no doubt will receive more detailed scrutiny at stages 2 and 3, assuming that the general principles of the bill are accepted by Parliament at decision time. We will support the bill at this stage, and I look forward to further discussions with stakeholders as it proceeds through the next stages of the parliamentary process.