Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Official Report 370KB pdf

Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Bill

Agenda item 4 is consideration of the delegated powers provisions in the Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Bill, which follows on from a commitment that the Cabinet Secretary for Justice gave to the Parliament in October 2016. The financial memorandum to the bill states that it aims to correct an historical wrong with regard to how certain criminal laws were used in the past to discriminate against same-sex sexual activity although the same activity was not criminalised if it was undertaken between people of different sexes.

The bill aims to ensure that people who were convicted under those historical laws will receive a pardon. They will separately be able to apply to the Scottish ministers to seek to have such criminal conviction information removed—in other words, “disregarded”—from specific sets of official records if certain criteria are met. Both the pardon and the “disregard” will apply when the same activity would now be lawful.

Delegated powers are contained in sections 10, 15 and 17 of the bill and no issues have been raised by our legal advisers in that regard. Is the committee content with the delegated powers in the bill and to report to the lead committee accordingly?

Members indicated agreement.