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All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
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Displaying 1046 contributions
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
I understand—thank you.
Dr Fletcher, I have a similar question. Does the financial memorandum take sufficient account of the costs to the NHS of supporting the reviews and implementing any recommendations?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
Thank you. Graeme Simpson, feel free to answer the finance point in your response, but I also want to ask you about the Social Work Scotland submission, which suggests that there has been a lack of “consultation with key stakeholders” in developing the model. Is a lack of consultation widespread across many key organisations? Do you have a view on what might have been different in the model had consultation taken place?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
Good morning. Dr Scott, you have just raised some concerns, but I am not sure that I heard you talk about the finances. As you will know well, the committee has been concerned about laws being brought in without sufficient backing to implement or deliver on admirable intentions. You say, rightly, that your organisations are the experts. It has been suggested that, due to a lack of funding, some organisations that are involved in preventing domestic abuse might struggle to support the reviews or to implement any recommendations that are being brought in by the bill. Do you share that concern, and do you have a view on the finances that are allocated to the bill?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
I am very grateful.
Fiona Drouet, I ask you the same question about finances.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
Dr Scott, Rona Mackay asked you about the definitions in section 9. Let us assume that we do not import the definitions from the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018. In your written submission, you expressed concern about the definitions of “child” and “young person” that are used in the bill. For the record, will you articulate your concern and what you would like the committee to do in relation to those definitions?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
You have both made powerful points.
Dr Scott, you said earlier that the process so far has been pretty good. However, given the concerns that both witnesses have just raised about the finances, has your organisation had an opportunity to raise directly with the Government those financial concerns, as well as any other concerns about the timescales for implementing the legislation?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
I put the same question to Fiona Drouet. Are you and your organisation being listened to by the Scottish Government on funding and timescales?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
I am grateful to you both.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
Katie Brown, you spoke in your opening remarks about funding and resources, and the helpful submission from COSLA raised that as a specific issue, saying that there is a
“Chronic lack of capacity in and underfunding of VAWG services”
by the Scottish Government and that the financial memorandum needs more work in relation to the costs to local authorities of implementing the bill.
Do you worry that the figures in the financial memorandum are insufficient to implement the bill properly and action any recommendations from reviews? What do those figures need to be?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 5 February 2025
Liam Kerr
Yes. I am grateful to you all.