What discussions it has had with any organisations regarding the establishment of the Scottish Sentencing Council.

The judicially-led independent Sentencing Commission examined the issue of consistency in sentencing in our criminal courts. The central recommendation of the commission’s 2006 report, The Scope to Improve Consistency in Sentencing, was the creation of a procedure for giving effect to sentencing guidelines. In September 2008, we published our consultation paper Sentencing Guidelines and a Scottish Sentencing Council: Consultation and proposals to invite views on our proposals for a new system of sentencing guidelines and a Scottish Sentencing Council to develop that system.
We are committed to the establishment of a Scottish Sentencing Council and brought in provisions in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, which paves the way for the new body to be set up.
We have entered into discussions with the Judiciary of Scotland to consult on options for the establishment of the Scottish Sentencing Council. Discussions are ongoing with a decision to be made in due course.