Hansard

The Convener SNP

Our next item of business is an oral evidence-taking session on an affirmative Scottish statutory instrument that has been relaid by the Scottish Government....

The Minister for Victims and Community Safety (Siobhian Brown) SNP

Good morning. First, I want to take the time to apologise to the committee for the circumstances that bring me back here today. I appreciate that time is of ...

The Convener SNP

Thank you, minister. The committee is grateful for the update that you have provided, for the explanation that you have given and for some of the detail on t...

Sharon Dowey (South Scotland) (Con) Con

Good morning, minister, and thank you for the opening statement.You were previously before us on 18 February. As you said, some of the figures in the SSI wer...

Siobhian Brown SNP

We wanted to reform this part of the fixed-penalty notice regime, which is why the SSI was laid. Obviously, there has been a mistake in the data that was col...

Robert Wyllie (Scottish Government)

As the minister described, Police Scotland came to us with a request to add section 38 of the 2010 act to the fixed-penalty notice regime. We then engaged in...

Siobhian Brown SNP

For clarity, I note that my understanding is that the mistake arose because of the way in which officials interpreted the data, which does not fully reflect ...

Sharon Dowey Con

The increase in the fine was not an issue at committee last week—I think that we all agreed on that. Similarly, adding in the extra offence was not an issue,...

Siobhian Brown SNP

I will have to bring in officials to answer that, because my understanding from my meeting with officials before we came into the committee is that the SSI w...

Sharon Dowey Con

I am still looking for an answer. The information that was given to you was obtained by officials in meetings. You have taken it as fact. Despite having the ...

Siobhian Brown SNP

I do not know whether Bob Wyllie or Fiona McDiarmid wants to come in.

Robert Wyllie

The proposal to remove offences was suggested by Government officials. That is the answer to your previous question.

Sharon Dowey Con

On the basis that they had not been used for two years.

Robert Wyllie

Yes, that is right. The question was asked, “Is this in line with current practice? Are these offences needed at the moment?” We proposed that they be remove...

Siobhian Brown SNP

I have been the Minister for Victims and Community Safety for close to three years and this has never happened before, so it is not something that happens al...

Sharon Dowey Con

Not that we are aware of. I hope that there will be no more similar instances.On 18 February, we were told that Police Scotland did not want the offence of b...

Siobhian Brown SNP

I am sorry—what did you say?

Sharon Dowey Con

You told us that Police Scotland did not want the offence of being drunk in charge of a child to be removed from the ASB FPN regime—that is in the Official R...

Siobhian Brown SNP

I cannot remember Police Scotland saying that—those remarks might have been misinterpreted.

The Convener SNP

Is that question relevant to the instrument that we are dealing with today?

Sharon Dowey Con

The minister told the committee:“When we engaged with the police on the instrument, it was not an issue that they raised, but they wanted that offence kept o...

Robert Wyllie

I think that that is a misunderstanding. Police Scotland are quite clear that being drunk in charge of a child is not an offence in relation to which it woul...

Sharon Dowey Con

Quite a number of cases involving that offence went to court—I saw that in the updated figures.

Jamie Hepburn SNP

What has happened is unfortunate, but I am inclined to recognise that it is unusual. I know from my own experience that things can go wrong, but it does not ...

Siobhian Brown SNP

The first part of the question is about what will happen moving forward. I cannot speak on behalf of the Government in the next parliamentary session, but we...

Jamie Hepburn SNP

I am not looking for massive detail, but can we get some sense of what that looks like at this stage and then maybe you can follow up with a bit more detail ...

Siobhian Brown SNP

Robert, do you want to speak about what safeguards are in place to ensure that this does not happen again?

Robert Wyllie

I can speak about the broader review that this work is going to be folded into. Officials are undertaking site visits with local authorities and community po...

Jamie Hepburn SNP

Will the Scottish Government’s legal directorate be more involved? It sounds to me as though the issue is that there has not been enough cross-reference to d...

Siobhian Brown SNP

I note that some of the other proposals for reform to the regime are going to be more complex and will involve questions of principle and different penalty l...