Official Report 669KB pdf
Good morning, and welcome to the 35th and final meeting of the Criminal Justice Committee in 2025. We have received no apologies. We expect to be joined later by Pam Gosal MSP.
Before we begin, I thank Kirsty Deacon from the Scottish Parliament information centre for all the help that she has offered to the committee over the past few years. Kirsty is moving on, so I want to say a big thank you to her for the support that she has given members throughout her time with the committee. We wish her well in her new role.
Our first item of business is an oral evidence session on a legislative consent memorandum, LCM-S6-67 on the United Kingdom Government’s Sentencing Bill. I welcome Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, and the Scottish Government officials: Kevin Fulton from the community justice division and Ruth Swanson, who is a solicitor from the legal directorate. I refer members to paper 1. I invite the cabinet secretary to make some opening remarks on the LCM.
I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the legislative consent memorandum on the amendments that have been tabled to the UK Government’s Sentencing Bill. I thank the committee and the Parliament for their co-operation in expediting the work so that the Parliament’s view can be expressed before the final stages of the bill’s progress in early January.
The UK Government introduced its Sentencing Bill on 2 September this year to take forward recommendations that were set out in the independent sentencing review led by the Rt Hon David Gauke, the report of which was published in October 2024. The bill intends to make significant changes to the sentencing framework and the management of offenders in the criminal justice system in England and Wales. That includes making changes to the sentencing for lower-level offences, release provisions for some prisoners, community order requirements and restrictions that are available for post-prison supervision. The areas of law that are covered by the bill are largely reserved, or the provisions extend to England and Wales only.
However, on 14 October this year, during the bill’s progress, the UK Government tabled amendments that seek to extend the sentencing and release arrangements that currently apply to individuals who have been sentenced for terrorism offences to individuals who have been sentenced for a national security offence. That means that all such prisoners will be considered for parole after serving two thirds of their sentence, rather than those who are serving short sentences being subject to automatic early release after serving 40 per cent or 50 per cent of their sentence, or those serving long sentences being first considered for parole halfway through their sentence, as would otherwise be the case. As a result, several consequential and technical amendments are required to ensure that those provisions can operate as intended in Scotland.
The Scottish Parliament’s legislative consent is required in relation to those amendments, as we consider that the changes that are being proposed will alter the executive competence of Scottish ministers in relation to their functions concerning the release of prisoners of that type. Operationally, both the Parole Board for Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service have confirmed that those changes will have little to no impact, as no individuals are held in Scottish prisons under a national security offence.
The legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament is essential to ensure that there is consistency between Scotland and the rest of the UK with regard to the sentencing for national security offences. Reflecting those changes in Scotland will also ensure that Scotland cannot be seen as a more attractive location for state threat actors compared with England and Wales.
I therefore urge the committee and the Parliament to support the LCM.
As no member wishes to comment, is the committee content to recommend to the Parliament that consent should be given for the relevant provisions that are covered by LCM-S6-67?
Members indicated agreement.
Are members content to delegate responsibility to me and the clerks to approve a short factual report to the Parliament on the LCM?
Members indicated agreement.
I thank the cabinet secretary for attending the meeting. I suspend the meeting to allow for a change of witnesses.
09:05 Meeting suspended.Air ais
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