Site news
Sign up to receive an
occasional bulletin about new content.
Sign up to receive an
occasional bulletin about new content.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
This was a very quiet week for justice in the Parliament. There were a number of items of subordinate legislation discussed in the Committee, and the budget was debated in the Chamber, although justice was only mentioned in passing.
The Justice Committee
Subordinate Legislation
Once again, most of this week’s meeting took place in private with the Committee writing their draft report for the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill. However, before that they dealt with a number of pieces of subordinate legislation.
Mutual Recognition of Criminal Financial Penalties in the European Union (Scotland) Order 2009 (Draft)
This order will enable Scottish fines to be enforced elsewhere in the European Union, and it will enable other member states to seek enforcement in Scotland. The Committee were joined by the Cabinet Secretary who spoke in favour of the Order, and he answered questions relating to why there is a minimal level of Euro 70 which is recoverable. He also used this opportunity to bemoan the fact that Westminster has competence over penalties for traffic violations, which he argued are often committed by foreign nationals who then leave the country.
The Committee were content to note this Order and a number of items of negative legislation without further comment.
You can read the transcripts of this short meeting in the Official Report, or you can watch it on Holyrood.TV
The Chamber
Budget Statement
On Thursday the Government announced its draft budget. Criminal justice did not feature that widely in John Swinney’s speech or in questions that followed, although he mentioned capital investment for the SPS and continuing investment into visible policing in passing.
Most of the information relating to justice can be found on the Government’s press release which states the Government’s budget priorities for justice in the year 2010/11 as follows:
•£136.8m for capital investment to support the ongoing development and modernisation of the Scottish Prison Service - this includes HMP Grampian which will replace HMP Peterhead and HMP Aberdeen; a new prison at Bishopbriggs; and replacement of prisons and facilities which are unfit for purpose;
•Substantial investment in the improvement of immediacy and visibility of community service in preparation for the introduction of the Community Payback Order through the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill;
•£7.4m to provide for the annual service fee costs in relation to the Firelink project. Firelink is a single wide–area digital communications platform for the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and replaced 8 outdated systems with one highly resilient system allowing for multi–agency interoperability;
•Funds to the courts to create fit-for-purpose facilities for court users, improve service delivery and increase access to justice;
•Making an additional 1,000 police officers available in our communities through increased recruitment, improved retention and redeployment
•£32.3m to deliver better drug treatment and support services to promote recovery from drug addiction;
•£170.5m for legal aid ensuring appropriate access to justice;
•£208.3m for centrally funded police costs such as the Scottish Police Services Authority, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, and other police support services.Once again, the Government will have to secure the support from Opposition parties if they wish to pass this legislation, so we wait to see if concessions are made over any of the proposals affecting justice.
You can read the full statement and ensuing questions in the Official Report, but for more justice specific information, see the CJScotland Newsblog
Questions
Drugs in prison
Nigel Don asked the Minister for Community Safety about mobile tracing machines which are used to find drugs in prison. They have so far been deployed in HMP Schotts and Barlinnie, and Mr Don wanted to know if there were any plans to introduce them into other prisons as well. The Minister replied that these machines are purchased by the SPS and are a national resource which can be moved about, and he praised the work that has been undertaken by the SPS staff into tackling drug abuse in prisons.
You can read this question in the Official Report
Written Questions
Questions about the al-Megrahi releaserumbled on this week, but there was also a range of detailed questions about the numbers of people treated for drug and alcohol addiction, about the number of beds available for drug and alcohol treatment, and about campaigns against drug driving. There was another question about the al-Megrahi release, and a range of justice questions including more about compassionate release and the number of homicides in Scotland. Most questions still about the Lockerbie bomber’s release. Finally, a question about police pensions and about police injury pension.
Posted by KM
on Thu 24th Sep 2009
at 4:03 pm
• Permalink • Tell-a-Friend