Background
As part of a recent reform to budget scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament, all committees now undertake pre-budget scrutiny of the draft budget which is subsequently published later in the calendar year. The purpose of pre-budget scrutiny is for the committees to produce, report and provide comment to the Scottish Government on the delivery, impact, and funding of existing policy priorities and any proposed changes, and how these should be funded. The aim is to influence the budget when priorities are being set.
Our priority areas
The Justice Committee is therefore seeking views at this pre-budget stage on the following matters:
1. What is your view on the current trends in funding in the justice portfolio and the Scottish Government’s rationale for these?
2. What is your view, in particular, on the Scottish Government’s proposals for spending on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service? This includes recent announcement of an additional in-year budget of £3.6million to fund the recruitment up to 140 permanent staff.
3. What is your view on the level of current funding and planned spend on the rollout of electronic monitoring to ensure that the courts, prisons and Police Scotland have sufficient resources to provide for an enhanced service in all parts of Scotland? Additionally, is sufficient funding provided to third-sector and voluntary groups who provide services in relation to people who have such a device fitted as well as helping people with prior convictions or who have been accused of a crime?
4. What funding issues arise more generally from the work of third-sector and voluntary groups who operate in the civil and criminal justice systems, especially in terms of preventative spend?
How to submit views
The call for written views will close on Friday 21 September 2018.
Before making a submission, please read our privacy notice about submitting your views to a Committee. This tells you about how we process your personal data. It is particularly important to note that we would not normally publish information that we consider to be defamatory or which contains personal information about a third party.
Please use the Template provided to format your submission.
This includes the Data Protection Form. Fill this out and return it with your submission.
If you are under 12 years of age we will need the consent of your parent or guardian. Please contact us and we can supply you with a copy of the template.
Please note that the Justice Committee does not usually involve itself in individual cases or complaints and your submission should, whilst drawing on any of your own personal experiences, focus on the spending priorities for 2019/20.
We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. Due to the time required to process and analyse evidence, late submissions will only be accepted with the agreement of the clerk.
Written responses should be sent electronically, in the template format, to the following address. Ideally they should be no more than four sides of A4.
[email protected]
If you cannot submit electronically you may send in a hard copy written submission. If you are sending in a hard copy submission please print off and include a copy of the Data Protection Form. Please send them to:
Justice Committee
Scottish Parliament
Holyrood
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP