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At the moment, the VNS is formed of three schemes.

The victims of offenders who have been sentenced to more than 18 months of imprisonment have the right to receive information about the release of the offender, and some of those victims have the right to make recommendations when decisions are being made about release. That is referred to as the criminal justice VNS. As of 2 December, there are 3,057 victims on that VNS.

The second scheme involves victims of patients in the forensic mental health system who are subject to a compulsion order and restriction order. Those victims are similarly entitled to rights of information and the making of recommendations. That scheme is referred to as the CORO VNS. As of 2 December, 34 victims are registered on that.

Victims of offenders who are sentenced to fewer than 18 months are entitled, on request, to more limited information about the offender’s release. That is known as the victim information scheme—the VIS. Currently, 58 people are registered on that scheme.

A lot of organisations are involved in the VNS. It is complex, so I will give you some background: the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service plays a role at the start of the process by distributing registration packs to victims; the Scottish Prison Service sends written information to victims; the Parole Board for Scotland and the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland facilitate victim representations; and the Scottish Government sends written information to victims of mentally disordered offenders and also provides release information to the registered victims of offenders detained in secure accommodation. In addition, victim support organisations provide support and assistance to victims registered on the VNS and to victims who can request information under the VIS. Some victim support organisations also now have proxy rights to information.

I hope that that gives you some background in relation to all the organisations that are involved and with which the victim contact team will need to engage.

To go back to your original question, as we move to stage 2, we are not only considering underpinning the victim contact team. We are looking at including the CORO VNS in the standards of service, as set out in recommendation 2 of the review. We are looking at applying discretion to the list of relatives eligible to register for the scheme, as set out in recommendation 11, with that discretion applying across the three schemes. We are looking at children over the age of 12 being able to authorise an adult to receive information on their behalf, which would be done on a case-by-case basis, according to the child’s capacity and choice, as set out in recommendation 14, and that would also apply to all three schemes. We are looking at taking a power to expand the information available under the victim information scheme, as set out in recommendation 15. The power to amend the VIS would bring that scheme more generally into line with what is happening with the VNS. We are also looking at data sharing and a duty to co-operate in order to establish the victim contact team, which covers recommendations 17, 20 and 21 and would apply across all schemes.

Thank you for inviting me to attend this meeting to discuss the Government’s commitment to reforming the victim notification scheme—the VNS. I am aware that the committee took evidence last week on our intention to use the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill to deliver the reforms to the VNS that require primary legislation, and I am also aware of the real interest and desire to ensure that victims’ needs are being met.

As the committee will be aware, through our engagement with the victims task force, the Government heard concerns from stakeholders that reflected the views of victims themselves that the VNS was not operating effectively, which is why we commissioned an independent review to ensure that the scheme was fit for purpose and that it could serve victims more effectively.

During the review, the chair, Alastair MacDonald, and the vice-chair, Fiona Young, undertook a considerable amount of engagement with justice partners, victim support organisations and victims. They also considered international examples of victim notification. The review report was published in May last year, and it contained 22 recommendations, some of which comprise several sub-parts, that were rooted in that substantial engagement.

The VNS is complex, and it covers three separate schemes. Two of those relate to the criminal justice system, both of which are effectively identified by the length of the offender’s sentence. The third scheme is for victims of mentally disordered offenders, which is the term that is used in the review. The review recommendations cover all three schemes.

Scottish Government officials engaged with justice partners and victim support organisations to discuss in detail the recommendations to inform and develop our response to the review, which was published in October. The Government agreed either fully or in principle with the majority of the recommendations, including the central proposal for creating a victim contact team.

Some of the review’s recommendations are aimed specifically at justice partners, some are for the Government and others are for the Government to lead in collaboration with partners. Taken together, we anticipate that the recommendations will require a mix of legislative and administrative changes.

At the time of publishing our response to the review, I made it clear that progressing the reforms is a priority for the Government, and that we would use the opportunity of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill to ensure that the reforms that are needed to be taken forward through primary legislation could be done at pace. However, I acknowledge that that will be a new part of the bill, so I intend to limit the amendments to only those that we consider to be essential for the legal underpinning of VNS reform.

I need to be clear that we are at the very early stages of reforming the system, building on the extensive consultation that took place with justice partners and victim support organisations after the review’s report was published, which informed our response.

Reforming the scheme is about ensuring that it works well for victims, and I am aware that the victim notification scheme can support victims only to a certain extent. It is not an absolute remedy for traumatic experiences. The concluding sentence of the independent review reflects that. It says:

“a human, trauma-informed and personalised process ... can go some way to help victims”.

Improving the VNS is part of our wider commitment to transforming how justice services are delivered, which includes putting at the heart of the system the voices of victims and a trauma-informed approach. The reforms will put the needs of the victims firmly at the heart of the notification scheme. By increasing the information that is available to victims, improving communication across justice agencies and making the system more accountable, we can ensure that the scheme continues to be as effective and trusted as possible.

Reform is about ensuring that the scheme works well for victims, which is, I think, what we all want to achieve. We share the vision in the conclusion of the review report, which, as I have already mentioned, is to have

“a human, trauma-informed and personalised process, which can go some way to help victims in their difficult situation”,

and we are committed to creating that with our partners.

Convener, I am pleased to be able to work on the bill with the committee and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs. The bill will improve victims’ and witnesses’ experiences and strengthen their rights. I look forward to taking your questions.

We could go through the recommendations, outlining what we are looking to implement at stage 2 and those things that we are not looking to implement at that point. We have that information, which I could provide to the committee if that would be helpful.

Yes, we could probably give you what I have. I have a big form here that I could go through, which is really technical.

I must make it clear that this is still a work in progress. When we come to stage 2, we will be producing a financial memorandum if any cost is involved. I might bring in Lucy Smith here, but, at this stage, we are not aware whether the technical amendments that we will lodge at stage 2 will cost anything.

However, we envisage a one-off cost being associated with the implementation of some of the review’s recommendations, such as that relating to the victim contact team, and those costs will depend on the delivery model for the team, which is still a work in progress, and on the impact of the VNS reform on uptake. That will require further work.

There might be other costs, but the opportunities for digital solutions might reduce operational costs. There could be costs and savings, but they will become clearer as the proposals for implementation are advanced further.

The amendments will be coming at stage 2 and will be quite dry and technical. I will hand over to Lucy Smith, who might be able to give you a little more detail.

One issue that needs to be addressed in establishing the victim contact team is data sharing. That is where the thought processes on how we can get this done come in. If we are to have dry technical amendments on data sharing, how will that underpin the way in which we create the victim contact team? Work is being done to look at what amendments we can lodge. That is work in progress, because if we are to do what is recommended in the report and establish the victim contact team, all of that needs to be in place first. Work is on-going to underpin that.

Yes.

Okay. I might bring Lucy in to talk about that. As I said, the figures that I have as of 2 December 2024 are 3,057 on the criminal justice VNS—

I do not have that information, and I do not know whether Lucy Smith has it, but we are happy to write to the committee on that point.