Chamber and committees

The ‘Bairns’ Hoose’ refers to the Scottish Government’s application of the international concept of Barnahus to the Scottish context.

The Scottish Government has an unashamedly bold aspiration to create our own Bairns’ Hooses in Scotland. We believe that every child victim or witness has the right to consistent and holistic support that enables them to tell their stories, access specialist services and recover from their experiences, and that these services should be delivered under one roof.

Work is currently underway to understand the required infrastructure to support Bairns’ Hooses across Scotland. We would envision a number of bespoke child friendly spaces with both urban and rural accessibility to ensure that every child victim/witness will have support from a Bairns’ Hoose by 2025.

When an unpaid work or other activity requirement is imposed by the court as part of a Community Payback Order, the management and delivery of that requirement – including determining what work is to be carried out - is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. There are a number of factors for local authority social work staff and unpaid work managers to consider when arranging unpaid work. Planning and assessment is informed by national Community Payback Order Practice Guidance and, while there is no prescribed list of activities, the guidance makes clear that activities should be appropriate to unpaid work taking account of a number of considerations.

Unpaid work schemes should make placements available across a wide range of work settings and types of activity and have regard to the circumstances and circumstances of the individual (such as employment, education, caring responsibilities, health, equality and diversity issues). For example, work which does not involve significant physical exertion may be the only appropriate option for some individuals (including for health-related reasons).

Unpaid work has a strong focus on reparation and providing opportunities to make amends and prevent reoffending though strengthening relationships with the community, and through developing useful skills. Justice social work staff and unpaid work managers in local areas are best placed to determine what unpaid work is suitable, taking into account each individual’s particular circumstances, to help ensure that individuals complete their unpaid work hours in a way which benefits the community.

We welcome the publication of Audit Scotland’s report on community justice, and its intention to carry out further work in this vital area in 2022.

While sentencing decisions in individual cases are a matter for the independent courts, we are committed to encouraging more widespread use of community-based interventions where appropriate. These are often more effective at reducing re-offending, as Audit Scotland sets out, and for keeping our communities safe.

In addition to continued investment in community justice services, which will total more than £117m this year, Parliament agreed in 2019 to extend the presumption against short custodial sentences from 3 to 12 months. Although it is too early to determine the impact of the extension, the use of such sentences has fallen significantly in recent years, with those receiving a sentence of 12 months or less reducing by 13% in the most recent data between 2018-19 and 2019-20, whereas the number of convictions reduced by 4%.

Our firm focus on prevention and effective community interventions has helped see Scotland’s reconviction rate fall to its lowest level since comparable records began more than 20 years ago. We intend to continue building on progress to date, including through a review of the National Strategy for Community Justice, expanding availability of alternatives to custody, and exploring legislative opportunities for a sustainable reduction in the prison population.

We will consider the issues identified by Audit Scotland in its report, including as part of the review and expected refresh of the Community Justice strategy, which we anticipate will be published in 2022 alongside an update Outcomes, Performance and Improvement Framework.

The completion rate for Community Payback Orders (CPOs) has generally been around 70% over the last seven years. This is consistently higher than for the orders they replaced.

There are a range of factors which can influence the likelihood that an order will be successfully completed. In particular, outcomes are likely to be influenced by the nature of the offending behaviour and individuals’ underlying risks and needs. The proportion of orders with an offender supervision requirement rose to 62% in 2019-20, the highest level in the last five years. Greater use of supervision suggests that individuals have more complex and entrenched issues to address and may have greater likelihood of reoffending.

Local authorities are responsible for delivering CPOs and, notwithstanding the factors noted above, we are continuing to work with national and local partners to help ensure orders are implemented as effectively as possible, and that completion rates are as high as they can be. Specifically, effective practice and improvement is supported by:

Community Payback Order Practice Guidance for practitioners

• a programme of scrutiny and assurance work carried out by the Care Inspectorate, funded by Scottish Government
• ongoing training and support from national partners, including Community Justice Scotland, Social Work Scotland, and Scottish Government
• analysis of statistics which are disaggregated by local authority areas, practice support groups organised by Social Work Scotland, area based CPO annual reports and an annual CPO report prepared by Community Justice Scotland

In addition, the Scottish Government has protected record levels of funding with up to £106 million allocated in 2020-21 to local authorities for the delivery of justice social work services. An additional £11.8 million has been provided this year to support justice social work recovery relating to the impact of coronavirus, which had a significant impact on the delivery of CPOs.

The Scottish Government takes seriously the responsibility to ensure those going through the criminal justice system with mental health issues are appropriately supported, treated and cared for, while ensuring their rights are being maintained

This is an important report that contains a number of recommendations which are being given careful consideration. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the Scottish Prison Service and other partners to ensure that frontline staff are properly supported and that the recommendations from the Mental Welfare Commission’s report are being given a collaborative response. Current progress includes the development of a new custodial estate for women in Scotland, scheduled to open in 2022. We have also created over 41 whole time equivalent mental health roles which are located across the prison estate, including the female estate.

Our Mental Health Transition & Recovery Plan published last year made clear our commitment to continue to work with partners to seek better support for those with mental ill health within the criminal justice system. The Plan is further supported with £120m from a Recovery & Renewal Fund and focusses on the specific mental health needs of women and girls to support better outcomes across a range of settings .

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 were approved by the Scottish Parliament on 10 February 2021 and will come into force on 1 September 2021. These regulations are concerned with modernising the licensing of dog, cat and rabbit breeding activities, pet selling - including the trade in young dogs, the operation of animal sanctuaries and animal rehoming activities.

Additionally, the Scottish Government works closely with a number of animal welfare organisations, other UK Government departments, the veterinary sector and enforcement agencies on the Puppy Trade Working Group to disrupt the activities of unlicensed and/or low welfare breeders and educate the public about how best to buy a puppy safely.

The issue of body-worn cameras is a policy and operational decision for Police Scotland, acting under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. However, as part of our budget allocation for policing this year, we have provided one-off funding of £500,000 to support their use by armed officers.

Police Scotland are currently running a public consultation on a wider roll-out body-worn video across the service which will assist them in protecting the public, their officers and staff and provide best evidence at court.

This consultation launched on the 1 June and is due to close on 31 August 2021. The results will help inform protocols, a code of practice and training to ensure that cameras are used in appropriate and proportionate way .

The Scottish Government has committed to a review of the Victim Notification Scheme and work in relation to this is being taken forward.

The minutes from the meeting of the Victims Taskforce on 10 March 2021 where this matter was discussed can be accessed here: Victims Taskforce papers: March 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Decisions on whether individuals accused of criminal offences should be remanded in custody are for the independent court to make within the overall legal framework. For anyone held on remand, they can seek a bail review at any time so that their position is re-assessed by the court.

The number of individuals held on remand as a proportion of the overall prison population has increased during Covid-19 as a result of the impact of Covid-19 on the processing of criminal cases. A key reason why the Scottish Government has provided an additional £50 million to the justice system this year is so that criminal cases can be progressed, including for those on remand, and justice carried out in each case.

Prior to Covid-19, there were concerns about the use of remand within the justice system and the Scottish Government is committed to taking action to address this. This includes investing in robust alternatives to remand – specifically £550k in bail supervision and an additional £1.5m for bail support for women each year. This is in addition to the £117m annual investment in community justice services. We are also working with partners to implement electronically monitored bail across Scotland – providing a further monitoring capability for courts.

Police Scotland have advised that there are currently 256 body worn cameras in use within North East Division and 5 body worn cameras in use within Fife Division. These are in daily use and managed in accordance with Data Protection impact assessments.

In addition, Police Scotland have access to 50 body worn cameras available from legacy force areas, including the Football Policing Unit.

Police Scotland have confirmed that they are proceeding with the development and introduction of additional body worn cameras for armed policing officers in advance of the Climate Change conference COP26 in November 2021.