We will now move on to item 5, which is petition PE89, sent in by Mrs Eileen McBride, on information to be included on the enhanced criminal record certificates. The petition has been circulated to members, with a note from the assistant clerk. The concerns relate to inclusion of information on a criminal record certificate that does not relate to conviction information—suspicion is recorded. This raises serious issues of law. Research note RN 00/19, which has been prepared by the Scottish Parliament information centre, describes the current position and outlines the background. The provision relates to a narrow range of suspicions.The best immediate approach for the committee would be to write to the minister to clarify when the Police Act 1997 will be brought fully into force in Scotland, because that is unclear. We should also ask for comment about the difficulties that the provision may now pose in the light of the European convention on human rights. With the committee's agreement, that is the first step that we should take on this petition. Pending the minister's answer to those questions, the petition should be referred to the meeting immediately after the Easter recess, to be included in the discussion then.
Official Report · Committee
Petition
Speakers
Choose an MSP to read only their contributions- Roseanna Cunningham SNP 5
- Christine Grahame SNP 1
- Pauline McNeill Lab 1
- Phil Gallie Con 1
- Scott Barrie Lab 1
The record
10 contributionsThis is an interesting issue. I have done some work in relation to criminal police checks for elderly people. It is stated on page 6 of research note RN 00/19 that:"a joint committee of the Part V Board and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) is considering the issue and will prepare guidance to forces on the nature of the data which can be disclosed."It might be interesting to see what the guidance is.
We can add that to the letter to the minister.
link
It is important that we examine this issue. We must be clear that this is the right way to proceed. I agree with your suggestion, convener, but would like to add that this procedure may be against our own law since, as it currently stands, someone is innocent until proven guilty. I accept the need to ensure that this is ECHR proofed, but it may also be contrary to our own law. Whichever decision we decide to take, it is important that we examine the issue thoroughly.
This is one of the issues that came up when the legislation was introduced. The act is heavily related to the incident at Dunblane. The debate was full of emotion and the legislation that followed might not have been terribly logical.
I have received a letter from Eileen McBride, which is dated 25 March and contains her responses to some of the points raised in the research note. Has it been circulated?
No.
I will ensure that the clerk circulates it to everybody.Is there anything else that should be included in the letter to the minister?
On Phil Gallie's point, I will be very interested when this matter comes back to the committee, because it attempts to prevent unofficial lists being kept, which was the practice in the past. It means that there will be a more public record. Although people might be alarmed that it breaches the ECHR—it may well do—it certainly tightens up previous practice.
I think that we have a note of all the points that are to be included in the letter to the minister.
In this meeting
Everything on 29 Mar 2000 →- Scottish Parliament Justice and Home Affairs Committee Wednesday 29 March 2000 (Morning) Committee business · 7
- Subordinate Legislation Subordinate legislation · 6
- Subordinate Legislation (Legal Aid) Subordinate legislation · 3
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 1
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 14
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 9
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 20
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 56
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 8
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 4
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 3
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 4
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 6
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 3
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 2
- Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 Bill debate · 9
- Petition Petitions · 10
- Stalking and Harassment Committee business · 12
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