§ 2. Mr. Dempseyasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress he has made arising out of his inquiry regarding the practice whereby Scots standing as sureties in bail are compelled to travel to England in order to deposit such securities.
§ Mr. Harry EwingMy Department has consulted the Home Office on this matter and I hope that it will be possible to provide a solution to the difficulty to which my hon. Friend has drawn attention.
§ Mr. DempseyIs my hon. Friend aware that two Airdrie people accepted responsibility to go bail for their son, who appeared on a charge in an English court, but were prohibited from making bail arrangements at the Airdrie police office? Is he aware that they were compelled to make two different journeys to Carlisle the nearest English town—travelling a total distance of 400 miles? Is it not time that this nonsense was stopped and people who live in Scotland were treated as British subjects? Will action now be taken to stop this shocking practice as soon as possible?
§ Mr. EwingMy hon. Friend will appreciate that this is a rather complex matter because of the different legal systems in Scotland and England. However, our discussions with the Home Office 421 are at a very advanced stage and we hope that a Bill to be introduced in the not too distant future will take care of the difficulty to which my hon. Friend referred.
§ Mr. FairbairnWill the Minister accept that his reply was totally unsatisfactory? Nothing is easier than to make arrangements for an English person to obtain bail in Scotland. Why should it be impossible for the Home Office to act in the reverse situation?
§ Mr. EwingThe Home Office has circulated all English courts explaining the difficulties arising from the kind of incident to which my hon. Friend the Member for Coatbridge and Airdrie (Mr. Dempsey) referred. However dissatisfied the hon. and learned Member for Kinross and West Perthshire (Mr. Fairbairn) is, I must tell him that we are on the point of resolving this matter to everybody's satisfaction.