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The sanctions currently available to the Commission would apply to unregulated legal services providers.
The new system would only apply to services complaints as it is not possible to raise a conduct complaint against an individual or body which is not regulated.
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Summary
The main provisions of the Bill are set out in six parts:
Part 1 - Victims and Witnesses Commissioner for Scotland
Measures seeking to establish a new office of Victims and Witnesses Commissioner for Scotland, including the functions, powers and duties of the Commissioner.
It concluded that current arrangements in Scotland are not satisfactory, particularly with the growth in sources of information which are not regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (p 81):
The rise of 'new' or 'citizen' journalists, and the vast increase in the use of social media, suggest that the tools hitherto relied upon in Scotland a...
The more extensive sentencing powers provided for in the Bill partly reflect the fact that the new court would be able to deal with some of the most serious cases, including ones with a murder charge.
Police Scotland also suggests there should be a discussion about a potential new offence in of possession of glue traps in addition to the offence of purchasing, noting there could be some dubiety around the offence of 'acquiring' a glue trap.
Scrutiny of Auditor General reports
The Committee scrutinised eight new reports published by the Auditor General during the reporting period, five of which were ‘Section 22 reports'iSection 22 reports are prepared by the Auditor General if any specific concerns or issues have been raised in the audit of one of the public bodies for which she is responsible...
Professor Johnstone called for "investment in the buildings" and a move towards a secure care model modelled along the lines of the new women's community custodial units in Glasgow and DundeeivScottish Parliament, Criminal Justice Committee, Official Report, 29 March 2023, col 22..
She stated that her research with victims indicated that the new focus on psychological abuse and on-going abuse was “not fully represented in their cases,” and that “there was still a focus on specific physical incidents”.
Another consultation was held on revised and new proposals between December 2020 and February 2021 with 100 responses received.iPolicy Memorandum, paras 9-11
Some organisations were disappointed about the level of engagement achieved by the Scottish Government’s consultation process on the proposals for the Bill.