This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-25342434

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
MSPs to pass victims of crime bill Victim support bill passed by MSPs
(about 17 hours later)
Legislation aimed at protecting victims of crime is set to be passed by the Scottish Parliament. Offenders will have to pay towards the cost of supporting victims of crime, under new laws passed by the Scottish Parliament.
The Victims and Witnesses Bill includes proposals to make offenders pay towards the cost of supporting victims. The government's Victims and Witnesses Bill also aims to give victims more information about their case.
It sets out rights for victims to see certain information about their case and provisions for victims of sexual assaults to choose the gender of the police officer who interviews them. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said it would put victims and witnesses at the heart of the justice system.
MSPs will debate the bill at its final stage before it becomes law. The bill was passed unanimously by MSPs, but opposition parties said it needed further improvement.
A Scottish government spokesman said: "The bill contains numerous proposals to improve the experience of victims, and these have been welcomed by individual victims of crime and victim support organisations. Mr MacAskill told parliament: "For too long, victims have been treated and made to feel like bystanders in the criminal justice system.
"For example, the bill will create a duty on organisations within the justice system to set clear standards of service, give victims and witnesses new rights to certain information about their case, and allow victims to make oral representations to the Parole Board about the release of life sentence prisoners. "The passage of this bill will see more consideration given to the rights and needs of victims and witnesses of crime and will improve their experience of the system to which they turn to see justice served."
"It will also establish a victim surcharge so that offenders contribute to the cost of providing immediate support and assistance to victims of crime." As well as the "victim surcharge" to be paid by offenders to those who suffer from criminal acts, Scottish ministers said the legislation would also:
Labour has expressed support for the legislation, but has brought forward further amendments which it hopes will gain the support of the Scottish government. Labour's Graeme Pearson sought to amend the legislation, in a move which he said would better balance the rights of the accused and the needs of witnesses, although his amendment was not supported by the government.
The party wants victims to be given the opportunity to read statements in court or via a video link if an accused pleads guilty or is found guilty. "I hope that the cabinet secretary has taken some evidence that we've offered through the afternoon and will take steps to improve, again, the contents of this bill," said Mr Pearson.
It wants a "more compassionate" victim notification scheme which would allow victims to choose how they are told about an offender's eligibility for release and when they will be released. A Conservative amendment to give rape victims the right to legal advice before personal information was accessed by lawyers was also rejected by Holyrood.
Labour also wants victims to be given the opportunity to give oral statements directly to the offender via video link if they so wish ahead of release in cases of life imprisonment. Tory justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell said her party would back the legislation, but added: "There are clearly glaring omissions in its content which we can only hope will be rectified in the future."