Hansard

I welcome this stage 3 debate on the Community Justice (Scotland) Bill, the final version of which is quite different from and a great improvement on the version that was presented at stage 1. The credit for that is largely due to the witnesses and stakeholders whose evidence proved invaluable in helping the Justice Committee to amend the bill as it progressed through the legislative process.

The bill was introduced against a background of severe criticism of the current model from Audit Scotland and the commission on women offenders. The criticisms highlighted the model’s limited impact on rates of reoffending; inconsistent service provision across Scotland; a lack of nationally agreed measures to assess performance; and an absence of strategic leadership and accountability.

Although the committee was told at stage 1 that the bill was merely enabling legislation, it soon became apparent that its provisions are more far reaching. They include provisions to define the parameters of community justice and to abolish the eight community justice authorities—perhaps the minister will address the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations in that respect in his closing remarks. The bill creates community justice Scotland as the overarching national body that is charged with monitoring the delivery of improved outcomes and it delegates the local planning, delivery and monitoring of services to the 32 sets of community justice partners.

The bill paves the way for significant reforms to the community justice system. However, a key element that initially was noticeably missing was a focus on prevention and early intervention. Furthermore, the third sector expressed serious concerns that it risked being marginalised by the proposed new structure.

Stage 2 amendments from the minister, and particularly from Alison McInnes and Margaret McDougall, addressed those criticisms, resulting in a much improved piece of legislation. Early intervention was incorporated in the meaning of community justice, while the interests of victims of offending behaviour were acknowledged in the bill, which was a welcome addition.

However, the amended provisions have been modified today and, sadly, those in relation to prevention and early intervention have been removed completely. Despite the extensive feedback from stakeholders including Police Scotland, Sacro, Barnardo’s Scotland and Victim Support Scotland, the Scottish National Party Government has rejected a holistic approach that encompasses early intervention and prevention. Many justifiably argue that that is a lost opportunity.

At stage 1 there was significant discussion about the relationship between the new body—community justice Scotland—and the 32 sets of community justice partners. Originally the model was presented to the Justice Committee as non-hierarchical, but during the scrutiny of the bill, it became clear that the relationship was indeed hierarchical, which risks putting in statute a top-down approach to community justice when decisions should be taken at a local level on the basis of local need. However, assurances have been given about the flexibility that each of the 32 sets of community justice partners will be afforded. That issue is important, as is the funding that will be allocated to the partners, which remains unclear.

The original intention was for the bill to tackle reoffending alone and serve as a de facto vehicle for the Scottish Government’s penal reforms, but the consultation on those proposed reforms has just been concluded and the responses have still to be analysed. Again, there is uncertainty as to how the proposals will pan out.

Given those unanswered questions and uncertainties, it did not seem unreasonable to insert a sunset clause. That would have made the new model for community justice subject to post-legislative scrutiny five years after royal assent, once any further changes to the criminal justice system and the penal system in particular had bedded in. It would also have ensured that the important stage 2 amendments that remain part of the bill were kept under review and properly monitored. I regret that that proposal was not supported at stage 3.

Nonetheless, there have been radical changes to the bill that mean that it now properly includes the third sector. Crucially, the changes recognise the importance of housing and homelessness services in helping to reduce reoffending by covering those issues in the bill. I confirm that the Scottish Conservatives will support the bill at decision time.