Question reference: S5W-36090
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 11 March 2021
-
Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all victims of crime are entitled to make a victim statement to court on how the crime has affected them.
Answer
The Victim Statements (Prescribed Offences) (No.2) (Scotland) Order 2009 sets out the offences in relation to which a victim statement can be made. In addition, a victim statement may be made where proceedings in respect of an offence are taken or are likely to be taken in courts prescribed by the Victim Statements (Prescribed Courts) (Scotland) Order 2009.
The Scottish Government has consulted on widening the scope of the victim statement scheme and reported on this in February 2021 ( www.gov.scot/publications/widening-scope-
current-victim-statement-scheme-consultation-analysis/pages/9/ ).
As a result of this the Scottish Government brought forward the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (Supplemental Provisions) Order 2021 which provides more flexible powers to prescribe courts, offences, and the form and manner of victim statements, to enable a full range of options for change to be considered.