Committee
Justice 2 Committee, 24 Oct 2006
24 Oct 2006 · S2 · Justice 2 Committee
Item of business
Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Item 3 is the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Bill. Members should have the bill and accompanying documents together with the two Scottish Parliament information centre briefings on the bill.I welcome the Scottish Executive officials who have joined us. We allocated an hour for this agenda item—we will still have an hour, despite the fire alarm. Different officials are working on different elements of the bill. First, there will be a short presentation on the custodial sentences element, followed by questions. After that, the officials will swap over and we will follow the same format for the weapons element of the bill.I welcome Jane Richardson, Rachel Gwyon, Annette Sharp, Brian Cole and Charles Garland, who I think are all from the Scottish Executive Justice Department. I invite Jane Richardson to give her presentation.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
Con
Item 3 is the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Bill. Members should have the bill and accompanying documents together with the two Scottish Parliam...
Jane Richardson (Scottish Executive Justice Department):
As you can see, there are quite a few of us here. Given that the custodial sentences element of the bill is about the management of sentences from beginning ...
The Convener:
Con
Thank you. That was very helpful, particularly your clarity about the process of handling the chain of measures, if I may put it that way. To help with the m...
Jane Richardson:
We acknowledge that a significant burden will be placed on the Parole Board, which, along with the whole system, will have a period of dual running while the...
The Convener:
Con
Several other issues arise. It would be helpful for the committee to have details about the changing rules of engagement for the Parole Board. We note the mo...
Jane Richardson:
I will answer the practical part of the question and my colleague Charles Garland may want to confirm the thinking on the legal aspects. We have had discussi...
Charles Garland (Scottish Executive Legal and Parliamentary Services):
That is my understanding, too. As Jane Richardson explained, the intention is to create under section 2 new Parole Board rules that will set out the ways in ...
The Convener:
Con
Forgive me for being simplistic, but I am not a lawyer and I have not been involved in the Parole Board system. You seem to be saying that, if the tribunal i...
Jane Richardson:
Under the framework for release, individuals will always be released on licence at the 75 per cent point of the sentence. The Parole Board will have the powe...
The Convener:
Con
Thank you for that clarity. Did anything go wrong with the three-member tribunal? Was there a particular reason for the change, or was it simply a question o...
Jane Richardson:
It was a question of efficiency and effectiveness elsewhere. We looked to other models for some assistance.
Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I want briefly to follow your questions, convener.Having read the bill, I came to the conclusion, which has just been confirmed, that somebody would be relea...
Jane Richardson:
The minimum referred to in that briefing is the 50 per cent minimum, which—I say this without pre-empting any sentencing decisions by courts—may be seen as t...
Mr Maxwell:
SNP
I accept that, but the question is whether offenders who present as a high risk of reoffending and/or who pose an unacceptable threat to public safety will b...
Jane Richardson:
Yes.
Mr Maxwell:
SNP
Why?
Jane Richardson:
Good question. Ministers have considered the point, and the debate has run for a considerable time. As the committee may have noticed, there is a slight depa...
Mr Maxwell:
SNP
I accept everything that you say. I support alternatives to custody and I think that the idea of an incentive is great. However, do you think that it is reas...
Jane Richardson:
As I said, after thinking through the options, the Scottish ministers have decided that it would be appropriate to deal with offenders by managing them both ...
Mr Maxwell:
SNP
I still do not understand why. You say that the Scottish ministers have decided that, but why?
Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab):
Lab
You need to ask the ministers.
Mr Maxwell:
SNP
This is the bill team. I am sure that they have some knowledge of what has been going on in the Executive.
Jane Richardson:
I am sorry—I might not be making myself very clear. The policy is that the individual, even when they are high risk, should be managed in the community rathe...
The Convener:
Con
In fairness to the officials who are here today, the committee is taking evidence from several agencies and the minister, and I am sure that we will take tha...
Cathie Craigie:
Lab
It seems to me that if someone comes before the board after 50 per cent of their sentence is served, there is not really much incentive to change their behav...
Jane Richardson:
First, the bill sets out provisions for a continuous review of the individual's detention and custody beyond the minimum period imposed by the court. Of cour...
Cathie Craigie:
Lab
Okay. So what were the responses to the consultation?
Jane Richardson:
The consultation on the measures was done through the Sentencing Commission for Scotland's work. The Scottish ministers then took the recommendations of the ...
Colin Fox:
SSP
A very general question leaps out at me when I read the bill and explanatory notes. Will the commitment of the Scottish Executive Justice Department and this...
Rachel Gwyon (Scottish Prison Service):
The Scottish Prison Service has considered the proposals and the objectives to improve clarity of sentencing and integrated management. We have also had to m...