Tag: Criminal Justice Committee

THREE Holyrood Committees join forces to look at tackling drug deaths and problem drug use

The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee, Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and Social Justice and Social Security Committee are coming together to hold two special sessions looking at the actions taken to reduce drugs deaths and problem drug use in Scotland. 

The sessions, which will question the Scottish and UK Governments, as well as the new Chair of the Scottish Drugs Deaths Taskforce (SDDT), will seek to focus on what progress has been made and actions taken so far, including implementation of SDDT’s recommendations, as well as what more can be done.

The Committees are working together, recognising the issues which lie behind this crisis stem from different policy areas. Each Committee will send representatives to question witnesses and consider the progress made. 

The Committee will question Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP, UK Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Probation, on the afternoon of Tuesday 1 February. 

On the following day, MSPs will then question the new Chair of the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce, David Strang, followed by the Scottish Government’s Minister for Drugs Policy, Angela Constance MSP.

Speaking as the joint sitting of the three committees was announced, Criminal Justice Committee Convener, Audrey Nicoll MSP (above), who will chair the joint sitting, said: “Problem drug use, and tragically, drugs deaths blight too many families and communities in Scotland. 

“We know that the roots of these issues are complex and historical, and that the Taskforce recommendations touch many policy areas. 

“Implementing the wide ranging solutions requires a co-ordinated approach by Parliament and Government.

“Addressing this drugs crisis is a priority for our committees. We want to support the individuals and families affected, as well as the agencies who work with them and the Government in taking the right actions to reduce drug deaths and tackle the misuse of drugs. 

“I hope these sessions allow us to see some progress in this area, and perhaps find consensus and focus on what more can be done.”

The Committee is a joint meeting of three Committees and not a new Committee.

It is expected the following MSPs will attend the joint sessions as delegates:

Audrey Nicoll (SNP) (Convener)

Miles Briggs (Con)

Foysol Choudhury (Lab)

Russell Findlay (Con)

Gillian Mackay (GRN)  

Gillian Martin (SNP)

Pauline McNeill (Labour)

Paul O’Kane (Lab)

Sue Webber (Con)

It is expected that the new SJSS Convener will also attend, once this person is appointed. (SNP).

The meeting with Kit Malthouse is expected to take place virtually between 3 – 4:30pm, Tuesday 1 February.

The meeting with the Taskforce and Angela Constance MSP is expected to take place virtually 10am – 12:30pm, Wednesday 2 February. The panel with the taskforce anticipated to last 10 – 11am, and the Minister thereafter.

Commitee inquiries expose ‘deep-rooted problems’ in justice sector

The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee is detailing some of the short- and long-term changes it wants to see made in the Scottish justice sector in a new report.

Following a series of hearings looking at justice issues including:

• the impact of COVID on the sector,
• courts,
• prisons and prison reform,
• victims’ rights and support,
• violence against women and girls,
• youth offending, community justice solutions and alternatives to custody,
• legal aid, and
• the misuse of drugs and the criminal justice system,

the Committee is setting out the actions it wants to see taken to improve outcomes in these areas, and attempting to find solutions to some of the stubborn problems in the system.

Among the more than 60 actions it has set out for the Scottish Government and its partner agencies such as the prison service, courts and prosecutors are:

• Improving prisons and reducing reoffending, including by:
– reintroducing the Throughcare scheme for those leaving custody,
– Ensuring under-18s are in secure care rather than HMPYOI Polmont,
– tackling the high levels of drugs and the influence of serious and organised crime groups in jails, and
– giving more access to fresh air and purposeful activity for those in prison.

• Improving support for victims and witnesses, including by:
– Reviewing the Victim Notification Scheme, including assessing whether it may be inadvertently retraumatising victims with unexpected contact;
– Providing those alleging a sexual offence with of a single trauma-informed source of contact from reporting until the conclusion of legal proceedings;
– changing court buildings to make them less traumatising places for victims and witnesses (e.g. by unexpectedly encountering the accused).

• Taking action to tackle Scotland’s high drug deaths rate:
– rapidly implementing the recommendations of the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce, some of which date from April 2020;
– Ensuring a co-ordinated approach from the justice, social justice and health sectors to fill the service gap between what is currently being provided to help those with a drug problem and what is needed.

The Committee has committed to regularly reviewing progress against these actions across the course of this Parliamentary session, and will ensure progress can be tracked publicly on the Committee’s web pages.

Committee Convener, Audrey Nicoll MSP, said: “Our inquiries into the Scottish justice sector have exposed once again many deep-rooted problems.

“We know these cannot be solved overnight and there are few easy solutions. However, our Committee is determined to see progress made in this parliamentary session.

“As a critical friend to the Scottish Government and its justice partners, we want them to use our recommendations to drive forward progress and implement changes.

“We believe we have set out a balanced and proportionate action plan which may go some way to improving the criminal justice sector.

“We’ll be taking stock of progress at regular intervals during the remainder of this parliamentary session.”

The full report, including the action plan, is attached.

MSPs back ‘transformational changes’ to justice system

The Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee is calling for comprehensive reforms to be made in the justice system, as well as more money for the sector, ahead of the Scottish Government’s budget next month.

After considering the financial position of the sector, the Committee has concluded that many of the budget challenges in the justice system are symptoms of wider problems that have not been significantly addressed over many years.

While it believes there is a need for greater investment, connected problems such as court backlogs, high numbers of remand prisoners, and overcrowded, outdated jails with ‘revolving doors’ and issues with drugs deaths need to be tackled together with policy-based solutions, as well as adequate funding.

The Committee is calling for joined-up, long-term plans, led by the Scottish Government, and incorporating all the main justice partners to try to address issues including:

• The huge court backlog of around 50,000 cases made worse by the pandemic;
• The size of the prison population, including the number of women in jail and remand prisoners;
• Improving the prison estate;
• Issues in prison such as drug misuse, prisoner and staff welfare, and managing serious organised crime groups inside;
• The need for investment in police and fire services;
• Issues in the legal aid system;
• Support for victims and community justice schemes.

The Committee has suggested that spending on areas such as:

• effective diversion from prosecution or diversion from incarceration schemes for cases where those are appropriate,
• drug recovery cafés in prisons, and
• Throughcare for those leaving prison,

may all help ease pressures in the system, and in time reduce the overall budgetary challenges for the justice sector.

Speaking as the report was launched, Committee Convener, Audrey Nicoll MSP, said: “We believe that there is a case for further spending to support the justice system to meet the many challenges it is facing.

“However, we recognise that money is not unlimited, and that some of the seemingly intractable issues faced by our courts, prisons and other justice partners will not be fixed simply by loosening the purse strings.

“We believe joined up actions, achieving long term goals such as reducing reoffending, could prove transformational. This would improve outcomes for society as well as the budget for the sector.”

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Criminal Justice budget in the spotlight at Holyrood

MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee are to examine all areas of the Scottish Government’s criminal justice budget in the coming weeks, and consider whether the current funding patterns are sustainable, effective and achieving good outcomes.

Ahead of making recommendations to the Scottish Government on how it spends money on justice services, the Committee is looking to hear opinions on funding for bodies such as prisons, courts, police, fire and rescue, victim support and community justice initiatives.

It will also consider whether funding is in place to support the sector to recover from Covid, and whether any of the changes brought in to help cope with the pandemic may lead to longer term savings, if those were desirable and made permanent.

Speaking as the call for views was launched, Criminal Justice Committee Convener, Audrey Nicoll MSP, said: “Criminal Justice services play a crucial role in keeping Scotland safe, supporting complainers and victims of crime, working to rehabilitate offenders, and diverting people who are at risk of doing wrong.

“Our Committee wants to take a wide look at the funding for these services – public and voluntary – and examine whether what we have in place supports the justice system to do what we ask of it.

“It goes without saying that we will need to consider the impact of Covid-19 on the justice sector’s budgets.

“We asked a great deal of those working on the frontline and administering justice throughout the pandemic.

“And while there may be savings from some of the new ways of working, overall, the sector will need a lot of help to recover from the pandemic – for instance, to deal with the huge backlog of trials.”

The call for views can be found at this link.

Specifically, the Committee is seeking views on:

The impact of COVID

• Whether the Scottish Government is providing enough budget for the criminal justice sector to recover from COVID-19?

• What the cost will be of making permanent some of the temporary changes  brought in because of the pandemic (if these are to become permanent)?

• Whether organisations in the criminal justice sector have enough budget and staff to be able to cope with a return to pre-pandemic levels of working (e.g. expected growth in the number of court trials)?

• Whether there have been any savings and efficiencies because of the different way of working during the pandemic, what these savings have been used for elsewhere, and could they be kept once the pandemic is over?

• Where are the opportunities for future reform and savings?

The budget provided for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)

• Whether the Scottish Government is providing enough budget for the work expected of the COPFS?

• What is the expected impact of the budget of the COPFS from the recent cases of malicious prosecution?

Prisons, prison reform and secure care

• Whether the Scottish Government is providing enough budget for the work expected of the Scottish Prison Service?

• Whether enough money has been allocated for the future modernisation of the prison estate beyond the work currently underway at HMP Glasgow and HMP Cornton Vale?

• Whether the current funding model for secure care in Scotland needs reformed?

Police and fire and rescue

• Whether the Scottish Government is providing enough budget for Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service?

• In particular, is there enough budget to modernise the services, their buildings, vehicles and equipment etc?

The support for victims of crime

• Whether the Scottish Government is providing enough budget to enable organisations to support victims of crime?

Legal aid

• Whether the Scottish Government is providing enough budget to enable people to access justice through the support provided by legal aid in criminal cases?

• Whether further budget and reforms are necessary to tackle the problem of accessing legal aid in remote and rural areas of Scotland?

• Whether the Scottish Government is providing enough budget to attract people to work for organisations providing services funded by legal aid (e.g. defence solicitors)?

The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government

• What money will be required to finance the different criminal justice policies set out in the new Programme for Government and whether any new and extra finance has been allocated for the various initiatives?

Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee begins work with visits to Courts and HMP Edinburgh

While the new session of the Scottish Parliament gets underway this week, MSPs on the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee have been quick off the mark. Last Thursday members visited the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) and HMP Edinburgh.

The Committee heard how Scottish courts have adapted to COVID and how they see the recovery progressing, including plans to clear the backlog of almost 50,000 trials.

The SCTS visit included a demonstration of courtroom facilities and links to remote jury centres, and meetings with the Lord President, Rt Hon Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, and SCTS Chief Executive, Eric McQueen.

At HMP Edinburgh, MSPs focused on:
• facilities offered to prisoners, including those with more complex health or disability issues,
• new arrivals to prison,
• dealing with serious organised crime groups and violence in prisons, and
• parole, education, rehabilitation and ‘Throughcare’ for those leaving prison.

Criminal Justice Committee Convener, Audrey Nicoll MSP, said: “The new Criminal Justice Committee is currently on a mission to listen and learn about the priorities of those working in the justice sector.

“Courts and prisons are a cornerstone of justice in Scotland, and I know Members will appreciate the views of everyone we meet today – from the prisoners in HMP Edinburgh to the Lord President, our most senior judge.

“We will use September to hear from others with frontline experience and expertise. This knowledge will shape where we focus our attention in the months ahead.”

The Committee has agreed that its first meetings will hear from a wide range of Criminal Justice sector stakeholders, as well as hearing what the Scottish Government’s priorities are in this area.

This is expected to include updates around the role of the Lord Advocate within the prosecution system and government, the future of Scotland’s three-verdict system and the wider sector’s recovery from COVID-19.

Details of initial September work programme:

• Morning of Wednesday 1 September – evidence session with Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Minister for Community Safety on the Scottish Government’s justice and policing priorities for session 6,
• Morning of Wednesday 8 September – roundtable with a range of witnesses on the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the justice sector,
• Morning of Wednesday 15 September – two roundtables:
1) Priorities for prisons and prison policy in session 6, and
2) Priorities for youth offending, community justice and alternatives to prisons in session 6,
• Morning of Wednesday 22nd September – two roundtables:
1) Priorities for domestic abuse, gendered-violence and sexual offences in session 6, and
2) Victim support and victims’ rights,
• Morning of Wednesday 29 September – roundtable on reform of legal aid.

Subject to agreement, a further roundtable on the misuse of drugs is also planned.