HC Deb 23 February 1977 vol 926 cc1406-7
40. Mr. Canavan

asked the Lord Advocate whether he has issued any recent instructions to procurators fiscal about complaints of child assault.

The Lord Advocate

No, Sir.

Mr. Canavan

Why were not proceedings taken against the headmaster who subjected one of my constituents, a primary school pupil with an injured hand, to corporal punishment? What kind of biased legal establishment do we have in Stirlingshire when the boy's father is fined £150 for shoving the headmaster and another of my constituents, an unemployed youth, is fined £40 for stealing a handful of potatoes, and yet Sir Hugh Fraser, a millionaire, gets off scot-free after cooking the company's books?

The Lord Advocate

I reject those comments in general, and I particularly reject the suggestion that there is any bias in the prosecution in that area. I have written at length to my hon. Friend about the case to which he has referred, and I hope that that explains the circumstances. As to what a father was said to have done, perhaps my hon. Friend can take up that matter with me at another time.

Mrs. Bain

Are not the procedures for dealing with child assault in Scotland greatly respected in other nations of the United Kingdom? Can the Lord Advocate give an assurance that, when the report from the Select Committee on Violence in the Family finally becomes available, he will do everything possible to ensure that the recommendations are brought forward and that there will not be a repetition of what happened to the recommendations of the Select Committee on Violence in Marriage?

The Lord Advocate

If any of the recommendations are applicable and appropriate to Scotland, I shall do my best to see that they are applied.