It is for this reason that the Faculty is concerned that there is no provision in the Bill for the introduction of intermediaries, who are skilled in ensuring that questions asked are worded in a way that the witness can understand, in order to permit the witness to give their best evidence.
Faculty of Advocates, written submission.The submission went on to state:
It has long been accepted by experts in the field that neither lawyers nor the court are best placed to consider the communication abilities and needs of child and vulnerable witnesses and that trained intermediaries are far better placed to carry out such an assessment.