Justice and Safety

  • Brexit guidance for legal professionals

    14th October 2019 by

    The Scottish Government has published guidance for legal professionals to help them cope with a possible ‘no deal’ exit. Two guides cover the changes to cross border civil justice cooperation in family cases and in civil and commercial cases. Minister for Community Safety Ash Denham said: “With the UK Government refusing to take a ‘no...

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  • Throughcare support for people leaving prison

    25th September 2019 by

    Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has welcomed news that two third sector partnerships will extend the range of support they deliver for people leaving prison. The ‘New Routes’ and ‘Shine’ partnerships, led by Wise Group and Sacro respectively, will make support available for more prisoners released from short term sentences of up to four years. The...

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  • Judicial factors consultation launched

    28th August 2019 by

    A consultation has been launched on modernising the law around judicial factors to bring clarity, accessibility and efficiency to an important but outmoded area of the law. A judicial factor is a person appointed by the court to hold, manage, administer and protect property in circumstances where it is not possible, practicable or sensible for...

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  • Improving Scotland’s collective response to child victims

    17th July 2019 by

    First step in developing national Barnahus standards for Scotland. Earlier this year, the Scottish Government commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and the Care Inspectorate to develop a set of standards to introduce the Barnahus concept to Scotland as part of our commitment to improving how the criminal justice system serves children, young people and their...

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  • Scottish Government response to review of legal services regulation

    26th June 2019 by

    Minister for Community Safety Ash Denham has outlined the Scottish Government’s response to Esther Roberton’s review of legal services regulation in Scotland. Ms Denham said: “I’m grateful to Esther Roberton and her team for their work to consider what changes may be needed to the regulation of legal services in Scotland. We will also give...

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  • Review of police stop and search

    13th June 2019 by

    Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has welcomed an independent report into the use of police stop and search powers. The report on the Stop and Search Code of Practice, carried out by the Independent Advisory Group covers the first 12 months of the code’s operation up to 31 May 2018. Mr Yousaf said: “I am grateful to the independent advisory group, whose work has provided police, Parliament and the...

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  • Justice Secretary responds to Home Detention Curfew reports

    30th May 2019 by

    Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has welcomed the publication of progress reviews by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) into the arrangements for home detention curfew (HDC) in Scotland. Both independent reviews identify good progress against the recommendations made by the Inspectorates in October last year. The...

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  • Expert Review of Mental Health and Wellbeing Support for Young People in Custody

    21st May 2019 by

    Responding to the findings of the Expert Review of the Provision of Mental Health Services, for young people entering and in custody at HMP YOI Polmont, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “I am grateful to HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland and Dr Helen Smith for the breadth and depth of work on this detailed report....

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  • Justice Secretary Comments on Standards of Services for Victims and Witnesses Annual Report 2018/19

    30th April 2019 by

    Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf has thanked staff across the Justice System for their efforts year-round and throughout the festive period

    The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service today published the Standards and Services for Victims and Witnesses Annual Report on Performance for 2018-2019 (Available to read here. Word doc, 2.4MB). Commenting on the report, Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf said: “We recognise that having to engage with the criminal justice system can be a challenging...

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  • Justice Secretary comments on firearms statistics

    23rd April 2019 by

    The Scottish Government has today published official statistics on recorded crimes and offences involving firearms for 2016-17 and 2017-18. The statistics show that in 2017-18 police in Scotland recorded 348 offences in which a firearm was alleged to have been involved, a decrease of 1% from 2016-17 (350 offences) and 13% from 2015-16 (402 offences)....

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