Chamber and committees

The UN committee’s recommendation will be fully taken into account as we gather views from stakeholders and consider our next steps. Our approach will help ensure that we properly assess the potential impacts of any changes, as the Parliament would expect. If we proceed with a full public consultation, we want that to include robust evidence. If we decide to issue a public consultation, the earliest that that could be done is 2024. Clearly, any legislation after that would depend on the results of the consultation and the availability of time in the Parliament.

Forced marriage has a devastating impact on people who are affected by it and can be a form of honour-based violence. There are protections in both criminal and civil law, and forcing someone into marriage is a criminal offence. Forced marriage protection orders can also be sought from the civil court, and breach of an order is a criminal offence. From 30 November, those protections will extend to forced civil partnerships. No one should have to endure forced marriage. We fund the national Scottish domestic abuse and forced marriage helpline to provide advice and support, and help is available 24 hours a day on 0800 027 1234.

I am in complete agreement with Ash Regan. As only a small number of cases have progressed to trial to date, it is too early for an evaluation to make a meaningful assessment. It has therefore been agreed that justice analytical services will undertake an interim review of the pilot. Although the pilot has formally concluded, VRI still operates in the areas that form part of the pilot approach, with training continuing to be rolled out by Police Scotland. An internal evaluation of the pilot has been undertaken, and it will be signed off once the assessment has been completed by COPFS. I will get back to Ash Regan on the timescales.

The two-year pilot that was funded by the Scottish Government concluded in May 2022. The aim of the pilot was for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to use the interviews as a complainer’s evidence, where appropriate, should the case proceed to trial and to make an associated application to facilitate the cross-examination of the complainer by means of an evidence by commissioner hearing. We are carrying out an interim review of the pilot. When sufficient numbers of cases involved in the pilot progress to trial, we will complete a full and meaningful evaluation.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am sorry—the system was not working. I would have voted no.

Thank you, convener, and good morning. The draft regulations will, if passed, amend the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Local Taxation Chamber and Upper Tribunal for Scotland (Composition) Regulations 2023, the Council Tax (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 1993 and the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

A suite of regulations to effect the transfer of functions of the council tax reduction review panel and the valuation appeal committees to the local taxation chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland came into force on 1 April 2023. At the same time, some limited functions of the Lands Tribunal for Scotland were transferred to the Upper Tribunal. They related to non-domestic rates valuation appeals and referrals. Prior to the transfer of functions, those appeals or referrals were from the valuation appeal committees.

The draft regulations amend the composition of the Upper Tribunal when it hears appeals or referrals from the local taxation chamber. They align the composition of the Upper Tribunal when it hears valuation rating appeals with its composition when it hears all other appeals.

The draft regulations also amend the timescales that are set out in the Council Tax (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 1993. Prior to the transfer of functions, an assessor had six months in which to carry out certain functions when they were of the opinion that a proposed alteration of a council tax valuation band was not well founded. That time period was substituted in transfer regulations to create a period of six weeks. Following representations from stakeholders, there are concerns that that timeframe is overambitious, so the draft regulations will amend it back to six months.

The draft regulations also make a consequential amendment to regulation 94 of the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

The president of the Scottish tribunals was consulted with regard to the regulations, in line with the requirements of the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014. I understand that the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the draft regulations on 30 May and was content with them.

I am happy to answer any questions, convener.

I thank Katy Clark for lodging the motion and initiating this debate on women prisoners and the related issues that are raised in the motion, and I thank all members for their contributions to what has been an important debate.

The imprisonment rate in Scotland is too high, as is the proportion of people on remand—I think that all of us in the chamber can agree on that. I recognise the particular impact of the issue on women. There is no single reason why the proportion of women on remand is so high. I know that the Criminal Justice Committee—of which Ms Clark is, of course, a member—has considered the matter in some detail. There are no simple solutions. As a society, we need to consider who and what we think imprisonment should be for. Debates such as today’s one are essential in informing that consideration.

The Government has been clear that, in our view, imprisonment will always be needed to protect the public, including victims, from harm. We are also clear on the importance of issues relating to women in the justice system, both as victims and in relation to offending or alleged offending. Of course, many women who are in the justice system as a result of offending have also been victims and have experienced significant trauma, adversity and abuse, as has been mentioned.

Through our vision for justice and the First Minister’s policy prospectus, our strategic approach is focused on shifting the balance between the use of community disposals and prison, when appropriate, with particular focus on the needs of women who offend. Although prison will always be necessary in some cases, the reality is that a period of imprisonment often disrupts families and communities and adversely affects health, employment and housing—the very things that we know support desistance from offending. When prison is the only suitable punishment, we will continue to invest in modernising our prison estate and supporting our prison staff.

The motion notes that HMP Cornton Vale is in the process of being replaced by HMP Stirling, which is a significant milestone that follows a period of unprecedented and sustained investment to transform and modernise the female estate so that it supports women towards a more settled path in life. The new Stirling prison will provide world-leading facilities that are designed to meet the specific needs of women by focusing on rehabilitation and reducing reoffending, and it follows the opening of two new community custody units for women in Dundee and Glasgow in the past year, as has been mentioned. The units use evidence-based design models to produce the best possible outcomes for the women and for their families and communities. HMP Stirling will deliver world-leading trauma-informed care and management for women in custody, which will give them the best possible chance of a successful return to their communities on liberation.

We are also taking a range of actions to shift the balance from the use of custody to community interventions, which, we know, are more effective at reducing reoffending. That includes legislative action. The Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill, which is currently at stage 3, intends to refocus the use of remand so that it is reserved for those who pose a risk to public safety, victim safety or, in certain circumstances, the administration of justice. For those who do not pose such a risk, bail should be the default.

The bill seeks to improve the support that is provided to those leaving prison, to help them to resettle in their communities, in recognition of that fact that that can be a vulnerable time.

I have not had such a conversation, and I will ask the cabinet secretary whether she has. If she has not, I will ask that she endeavour to meet the Sheriffs Association to find out the substance of what has been said.

Legislation alone is not the answer, of course. That is why the Government continues to invest in community justice services, including alternatives to remand, against a backdrop of significant financial constraints. In 2023-24, we will invest £134 million in community justice services, including £123 million that is allocated to local authorities, with a specific investment of £3.2 million for bail assessment and bail supervision services. That is having an impact, with more local authorities establishing a bail supervision service alongside the on-going roll-out of electronically monitored bail services.

Sentencing and decisions on remand are key when it comes to any discussion about women in prison. It is important to note that such decisions are, rightly, a matter for the independent judiciary, working within the legislative framework that has been established by the Parliament.

I have mentioned the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill, but earlier reforms such as the extension of the presumption against short sentences are also relevant. My colleague Collette Stevenson mentioned that. The evidence is that women, on average, receive shorter sentences than men, are less likely to receive a custodial sentence and are reconvicted less often.

Women also represent a minority of those who are convicted of a crime and of the prison population in Scotland, a feature that is consistent over time, and they tend to be convicted of different types of crime in comparison with men.

Women in prison in Scotland often present with a number of complex and interconnected needs, as we have discussed. Broadly speaking, they disproportionately experience physical and psychological problems, which are frequently exacerbated by substance abuse and are often the result of traumatic events in childhood and in adulthood. It is right that we continue to take a gender-informed and trauma-informed approach to prevent offending and support effective rehabilitation in the community and in custody.

I will comment on some of the contributions to the debate. Katy Clark and Pauline McNeill mentioned the community custody units. The Scottish Prison Service is actively considering ways in which it could change the criteria for admission to those, to maximise the benefit for women. A formal evaluation is currently under way, and I will ensure that the members are updated on that.

Rona Mackay, Collette Stevenson and Jamie Greene mentioned women who had been traumatised through head injuries and adverse childhood experiences. The Scottish Government takes seriously the responsibility of ensuring that those who go through the criminal justice system with mental health issues are appropriately supported, treated and cared for, while ensuring that their rights are maintained.

I offer the assurance that the Government is committed to addressing the challenges in respect of women in our prisons. I point to the progress that we have made, while acknowledging that there is more still to be done and that that will take time and political consensus. I look forward to working with members to deliver the changes that are needed.

I have been assured by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service that that is the case. The resource budget was increased by £10 million in 2023-24. As I said, the SFRS needs to make some savings due to pay and other inflationary pressures.

As I said to Mr Doris, it is important to emphasise that the SFRS does not respond to incidents from one single fire station. Operation control deploys the appropriate level of resources to every incident, based on predetermined response levels.