Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 (Consequential Modification) Order 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-06-03
Topic: Law and Crime
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, the draft order, which was laid before the House on 25 March 2020, is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to devolution I start by thanking our police forces for the vital work they carry out on a daily basis. Throughout the Covid-19 epidemic, I am sure that noble Lords have heard of shocking cases of police officers and staff being purposefully spat at or coughed on. In Scotland alone, during the first three weeks of lockdown, there were more than 400 crimes against police employees, and more than 100 cases had a Covid element; 174 were recorded as assaults on police officers However, police assault is not confined to the pandemic. Indeed, the honourable Member for Edinburgh West, speaking in the other place a few weeks ago, provided a moving account of her own family’s experiences of facing assault while working in the police service. This is not acceptable, and I am pleased to say that the order before us today highlights how Scotland’s two Governments have been working closely together to ensure that police in Scotland have greater access to physical and mental support services when these dreadful assaults happen I will begin by providing some background to the order, which is to be made under the Scotland Act 1998. This Act devolved powers to Scotland and legislated for the establishment of a Scottish Parliament. Scotland Act orders are secondary legislation, made under the Scotland Act 1998, which are used to implement, update or adjust Scotland’s devolution settlement. The order before noble Lords today is a Section 104 order which allows for necessary or expedient legislative provision in consequence of an Act of the Scottish Parliament. It is positive for the union and for the effective functioning of devolution that the UK Government fulfil the function of passing Section 104 orders where legislative provisions are necessary or expedient I will explain what the instrument does. This order is made in consequence of the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 and has been requested by the Scottish Government. Through the 2014 Act, the Scottish Government sought to improve the information and support available to victims and witnesses. In addition, the Act created a new financial penalty, called a restitution order, to be imposed on offenders found guilty of assaulting police officers or other prescribed persons. This order amends Section 24 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 to make reference to the restitution order, and specifies that it should be handled in the same way as a fine for the purpose of that section In doing this, the order makes changes to benefits law, which is within the reserved field of social security. It is outside the executive competence of Scottish Ministers to facilitate or make changes to benefits. Therefore, this order has been taken forward by the UK Government to implement the Scottish Government’s required changes I will now explain what the Scottish Government intend to do with the change in legislation. As I mentioned, Scottish courts will have the ability to administer a restitution order when an assailant is found guilty of assaulting a police officer. The money collected will then be transferred to a restitution fund, held and managed by the Scottish Government—although functions can be delegated to a third party for the purpose of operating the fund. The fund will directly benefit police officers and staff by providing them with high-quality support where necessary The Scottish Government have worked closely with stakeholders such as the Scottish Police Federation, the Scottish Police Benevolent Fund and the Police Treatment Centres to ensure that the new restitution fund will support the physical and mental health and well-being of those affected. In addition, a public consultation paper, Making Justice Work for Victims and Witnesses, was published in July 2012, prior to the introduction of the victims and witnesses Bill in Scotland. The responses to this helped shape the design of this restitution order Where restitution orders are not paid, this order allows for Scottish courts to apply for a deduction from benefits order to pay the restitution order, in the same way as many other fines or compensation orders would be paid. Following this amendment, the Department for Work and Pensions will recover restitution orders on behalf of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service by direct deduction from an offender’s benefits Dependent on the Section 104 order being passed today, the intention is to progress the necessary Scottish statutory instruments in the Scottish Parliament, following the Summer Recess. Implementation of restitution orders will be through commencement of Section 25 of the 2014 Act This order demonstrates the commitment that the UK Government show to strengthening the devolution settlement and to partnership working between the two Governments to deliver for Scotland. It will make a real difference to the lives of affected police officers and staff in Scotland. It will ensure that there are greater resources available to support specialised services, such as the extremely important work of the Police Treatment Centres in Auchterarder and Harrogate. User testimonials sum up the value of such services, with one user reporting that "the practitioners and staff are truly amazing people, who go out of their way to ensure officers are fixed and well for duty" It is only right that police officers can access the support that they need, and that offenders can contribute to that. I therefore commend this order to the House. I beg to move.