Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 (Consequential Modification) Order 2020

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab)]

My Lords, I endorse all of the comments made by the Minister in his introduction, but I would like to use this opportunity to underline a number of key points and to ask a couple of questions to be answered at the end of the debate.

I too start by praising the work of police officers across Scotland, and their support staff, over the last three months. This has been a difficult time for them, trying to enforce lockdown conditions which, while clearer in Scotland, were not always straightforward. It is to their immense credit that after a few years of real difficulties in Police Scotland—politically and managerially, and in its governance—police officers and support staff have risen to the challenge with real dignity, and a firmness that has made a real impact. We should thank them for that.

The order is important and we of course should endorse it in the normal fashion. It is right and proper that Section 104 orders are part of the system of devolution in the UK, but it is also right and proper that we work in partnership to deliver them and ensure that the Scottish Parliament can implement its legislation.

I have some reservations about earmarking funding in any situation such as this, but I recognise the absolute benefits of this funding for the services and for police officers who have been subjected to assault. While restitution orders are a useful mechanism for raising that funding, their purpose is also to provide more deterrence against attacks on police officers and support staff in the years to come.

For that reason, these orders are welcome. There has been a good, healthy debate in the Commons, and the Scottish Parliament has passed the legislation, and we should support it too. However, I have two questions to pose to the Minister. First, is this order conditional for the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government to go ahead with implementation and enforcement of the orders themselves?

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it has been nearly seven years since this legislation was passed by the Scottish Parliament. I would be interested, in the interests of transparency, to have the Government confirm when the Scottish Government formally requested that this Section 104 order be processed through the Houses of Parliament. It would be helpful, not least because up to £1 million could have been collected in restitution orders since then. That sum of money obviously has not been available and could have been if the order had been processed more quickly. Understanding the date of the formal request would be helpful to make sure that this decision is as transparent as it possibly can be.

With those remarks, I am happy to endorse the order and the action of the UK Government in working with the Scottish Government to make this happen.