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This part of the site is a weekly review of criminal justice business at Holyrood starting, in its present format, from September 2006. The page is supported by a grant awarded by the Clarke Foundation for Legal Education and is written by our Parliament correspondent, Katrina Morrison.
New: "Handy guide to criminal justice in the Scottish Parliament September 2008 - July 2009".
Glossary: 'Law Officers' = the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor-General for Scotland. 'SPICe' = Scottish Parliament Information Centre
It is possible to view Committee business on the 'Holyrood. TV' archive for up to a month following the date of the meeting.
This was an exceptionally quiet week for justice business. The Justice Committee continued to take evidence on the Legal Services Bill, and there were a number of general questions for the Cabinet Secretary.
Parliament is now in recess until the 5th January.
The Justice Committee
Stage 1 of the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill
The Committee continued to take evidence on the Legal Services Bill. Today it heard from the Law Society of Scotland, the Law Agents Society, Scottish Legal Action Group, and the Scottish Legal Aid Board.
If you wish to read their evidence, you can do so on the Official Report, or watch it on Holyrood.TV. You can also read more about the Bill on the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill Homepage .
The Chamber
General Questions
Licensing Exemption Amendment to the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill.
Cathy Peattie (Lab) asked if the Government would introduce an amendment at Stage 2 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill which would ensure that voluntary organisations would not have to pay a licensing fee for fundraising events, saying that the average fee is about £200 was not affordable to many. The Cabinet Secretary Replied that this exemption is in the Bill because of recommendations that were made by a group set up by the previous Administration, but he said that given the concerns that have been expressed by organisations, he would introduce an amendment to retain the exemption. You can read the question in the Official Report.
Christmas Closure of the Open Estate
James Kelly (Lab), asked the Cabinet Secretary about the closure of the open prison HMP Noranside over Christmas, which appeared in the headlines last week. He argued that the Cabinet Secretary was backing up his ‘prison is a skoosh’ remark by freeing prisoners for Christmas and he wanted to know how much the prison service would save from this closure and where the money would be reinvested. The Cabinet Secretary replied that this was an operational decision for the Scottish Prison Service, who had advised him that the decision had been taken to consolidate the management of all prisoners who remain in open conditions over Christmas on one site in order to provide efficient and effective service delivery. He also said that parts of the open estate had been closed before at this time of year, and that more prisoners were given home leave at Christmas under the previous administration than under the SNP. You can read this question in the Official Report
Scottish Police Services Authority and VAT
Bill Aitken asked the Cabinet Secretary about the SPSA’s VAT status. The Secretary replied that the SPSA has now been appointed as an agent acting on behalf of the eight Scottish police authorities and joint police boards, which means it will now be exempt from paying the £3.8 million a year that would otherwise have been paid in VAT.
In follow up questions, Sandra White (SNP) asked what impact the return of VAT to 17.5% in January would have on the justice budget, to which the Secretary replied that it will add to the cost pressures on top of the Chancellor’s cut to the Scottish Government budget, which is “apparently 800% or more”.
Richard Baker argued that the uncertainty of leadership in the SPSA did not help strategic planning for Scottish police forces, and he wondered when a permanent chief executive will be appointed to the SPSA. The Cabinet Secretary replied that Labour should decide where it stands on the SPSA given that it established the agency, but now seems to have doubts about its structures. He also said that “matters were under way” with regards to the new position of the agency’s Chief Executive. You can read this question in the Official Report.
Written Questions
There was a question about whether the Government asked NHS boards to publicly support the minimum pricing policy at a recent meeting, there was a question about whether Inverness Sheriff Court was fit for purpose, and a question about whether the Government had any plans to help acquitted defendants recover legal costs. There was a question about the commencement time of community service orders, a number of questions about prisons including new technology for detecting drugs in prison, and the number of foreign nationals in custody, and finally, a question about types and numbers of wildlife crime.
Posted by KM on Mon 21st Dec 2009 at 10:37 am
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