§ 44. Mr. Ancramasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland how many offences under the Bail etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 have been prosecuted by his Department in the last six months; and how this compares with the previous six months.
§ The Solicitor-General for Scotland (Mr. Peter Fraser)The statistics for the number of persons against whom proceedings were taken in 1982 for contravening section 3 of the Bail etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 are not yet available. However, I can give details of the number of offences made known to the police in that year. In all, some 2,293 such offences were made known to the police in 1982, while the comparable figure for 1981 was 920.
§ Mr. AncramIs my hon. and learned Friend aware of the growing anxiety in Scotland about the working of the Bail etc. (Scotland) Act 1980, both among the police and public and those who work in that area? Is it not time for a review of the criteria under which bail is allowed?
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandI am aware that several chief constables in Scotland have expressed their anxiety about the operation of the Bail etc. (Scotland) Act 1980, but, as has been said, it is important to separate from that the working of that Act and the criteria to be applied when people are granted or not granted bail. That Act does nothing to alter those criteria and recently the Lord Justice-Clerk clearly laid down the circumstances under which people would be allowed bail.
§ Mr. DewarI am grateful to the hon. and learned Gentleman for that answer. Does he agree that one of the aims of the Bail etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 was to try to cut down the number of accused being held in custody awaiting trial, but that that has not happened? Anyone who looks at the figures will see that the number of prisoners on remand has increased. Is that not as genuine a worry as some of the more flamboyant claims that are made in certain chief constables' reports?
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandThe hon. Gentleman is correct. In 1981, 664 people were on remand, while for 1982 the provisional figure is 649. It is important to understand that, while we want to allow bail wherever possible, we cannot allow a set of circumstances to exist whereby those who are on bail take that as an opportunity to commit further offences. That is why we gave a direction to procurators fiscal in Scotland last May.
§ Mr. Gordon WilsonIn those cases where accused persons appeal to the High Court of Justiciary to obtain release from prison, will the Solicitor-General for Scotland say whether he has found any mechanism to allow those whose appeals are successful to be released immediately rather than have to wait until the next public day for release because of the problems caused by the non-money bail system?
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandThe hon. Gentleman raises an important point, which the hon. Member for Glasgow, Garscadden (Mr. Dewar) also raised. My noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate is currently examining that matter and we hope that it will be possible to bring about some change in the arrangements to prevent that.