Official Report 261KB pdf
Item 2 on the agenda concerns justice and home affairs in Europe. Committee members should have a paper that the clerks have prepared on the matter. The paper has been updated and paragraph 13 invites the committee to agree three action points.
With reference to the green paper on sentencing, the suggestion is that we invite an update from Executive officials at the same time as they give us an update on the framework decision. That seems logical. Depending on what unfolds, the committee might wish to consider what, if any, further action it wishes to take.
Finally, we have the green paper on bail, which is certainly interesting and might have far-reaching consequences for member states. The clerks have given some options in paragraph 12 of their paper and I need a steer from the committee about what it would like to do. We could invite officials again at the same time as we are dealing with the other two matters or the committee might want to seek evidence on the green paper.
I suggest that we await the Executive's response. I am conscious that the timescale is tight, but it would be more effective to take evidence on the basis of the Executive's response if we can.
There seems to be some uncertainty as to when the Executive's response will come out. I suggest that, if the response predates our proposed questioning of officials on the other two issues at a meeting in October, we circulate the response to the committee and, if committee members want more urgent action to be taken, that can be intimated. If the Executive does not issue a response, we will simply hear from Executive officials at the same time as we hear from them on the other two issues. Is that acceptable?
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Fire (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1