SP Paper 435 (Web Only)
JUS/S4/13/R18
18th Report, 2013 (Session 4)
Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Offender Rehabilitation Bill LCM(S4) 27.1
Remit and membership
Remit:
To consider and report on:
a) the administration of criminal and civil justice, community safety and other matters falling within the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice; and
b) the functions of the Lord Advocate other than as head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland.
Membership:
Christian Allard
Roderick Campbell
John Finnie
Christine Grahame (Convener)
Alison McInnes
Margaret Mitchell
Elaine Murray (Deputy Convener)
John Pentland
Sandra White
Committee Clerking Team:
Irene Fleming
Joanne Clinton
Ned Sharratt
Christine Lambourne
Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Offender Rehabilitation Bill LCM(S4) 27.1
The Committee reports to the Parliament as follows—
UK Bill
1. The Offender Rehabilitation Bill 1 was introduced in the House of Lords on 9 May 2013. The Bill reforms the release and supervision of offenders in England and Wales by amending the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to include:
- new supervision arrangements for offenders released from fixed-term custodial sentences of less than two years so that all offenders are supervised in the community for at least 12 months;
- new arrangements for release under licence for offenders serving fixed-term custodial sentences of more than one day but less than 12 months;
- the creation of a new court process and sanction for breach of supervision requirements for offenders serving fixed-term custodial sentences of less than two years; and
- the creation of new rehabilitation activity requirements for community orders and suspended sentence orders.
Legislative Consent Memorandum
2. The Bill did not extend to Scotland on introduction. Amendments lodged on 25 November aim to ensure that the new forms of post-release supervision in England and Wales can apply in Scotland where an offender is transferred on a restricted basis. 2 The Cabinet Secretary for Justice lodged a Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) on 27 November 2013, stating that this will ensure that the current cross-border arrangements can be maintained once the legislation is enacted. 3
3. The Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 currently allows the UK and Scottish governments to transfer offenders to different parts of the UK. The convention is that both the sending and receiving jurisdiction must agree prior to the transfer taking place based on set criteria. 4 The LCM states that “the amendments are required because, as matters stand, the 1997 Act would not cover the new post-release supervision and licence conditions to be transferred to Scotland”. 5 It explains that “there may be some circumstances in which an offender has legitimate reasons for wanting to transfer their supervision such as: close family or residential ties; the offender intends to reside in Scotland following completion of the supervision, or there are strong compassionate or compelling grounds to support the request”. 6 It adds that “the amendments will maintain the existing arrangements for cross-jurisdictional transfer of supervision which work well and are mutually beneficial for reducing reoffending and public safety in all jurisdictions”. 7
4. The LCM states that “these amendments are late additions and largely technical amendments to the Bill and there has been no consultation by the UK Government or Scottish Government”. 8 However, it confirms that the Scottish Government informally consulted with criminal justice social work partners and the Scottish Court Service and neither raised any substantive concerns. 9 It also adds that the Scottish Government does not expect the financial implications to be significant and are likely to be offset by reciprocal transfer of supervision of offenders from Scotland to England and Wales. 10
5. The LCM concludes that “it is the view of the Scottish Government that it is in the interest of the Scottish people that the relevant amendments made to Schedule 1 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997, which fall within the competence of the Scottish Parliament, should be considered by the UK Parliament”. 11
6. The LCM includes a draft legislative consent motion to be lodged by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, as follows:
“That the Parliament agrees that the relevant provisions of the Offender Rehabilitation Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 9 May 2013, which enable persons convicted in England and Wales and who will be subject to the new supervision requirements contained in the Bill to continue to be subject to those requirements in the event that they are subsequently transferred to Scotland under the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997, so far as these matters fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, should be considered by the UK Parliament.” 12
Committee consideration
7. The Parliamentary Bureau formally referred the LCM to the Justice Committee for consideration on 3 December 2013. The Committee agreed on 3 December to report directly to the Parliament in relation to the LCM as it did not raise any concerns.
8. The Offender Rehabilitation Bill does not confer any powers on the Scottish Ministers to make subordinate legislation and therefore, the LCM does not engage the remit of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee.
RECOMMENDATION
10. The Committee recommends that the Parliament approves the legislative consent motion on the Offender Rehabilitation Bill to be lodged by the Scottish Government.
Footnotes:
3 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 5.
4 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 6.
5 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 6.
6 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 7.
7 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 16.
8 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 12.
9 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 12.
10 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 15.
11 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 18.
12 Legislative Consent Memorandum, paragraph 1.
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