Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016

Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016

Act of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
Long title	An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision about community justice, including establishing a new national body to oversee community justice and introducing requirements in relation to the achievement of particular nationally and locally determined outcomes; and for connected purposes.
Introduced by	Michael Matheson
Territorial extent	Scotland
Dates
Royal assent	21 March 2016
Commencement	1 April 2017
Status: Current legislation
Text of the Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in February 2016 to make provision for new community justice arrangements. The Act established a new national body to oversee community justice and it introduced requirements about achieving outcomes that were set locally and nationally.

History

The bill was introduced on 7 May 2015 by Michael Matheson, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice. ^[1]

In September 2015, a report was publisher by the Ministerial Group on Offender Reintegration. There bill was also some flexibility introduced around the date of release, to better match available support in the community. ^[2]

The justice committee considered how the legislation might make provision for 32 local community planning partnerships (CPPs) taking on new responsibilities without any new funding for them to do this. ^[3] The legislation established a new national body, Community Justice Scotland. ^[4]

The legislation was passed unanimously on 11 February 2016. ^{[5] [6]}

It received Royal Assent on 21 March 2016.

References

1. O’Leary, David (9 May 2015). "Plans for new body to oversee justice in community". The Scotsman . Retrieved 6 January 2017.
2. Marshall, Chris (16 September 2015). "Bid to cut re-offending by ending weekend prison release". The Scotsman. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
3. Naysmith, Stephen (20 January 2016). "Criminal justice reforms see everyone taking offence". The Herald . Glasgow. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
4. Robertson, Alan (12 February 2016). "MSPs pass Community Justice Bill amid ongoing concerns over funding". Holyrood . Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
5. "MSPs back overhaul of community justice system". The Herald. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
6. Robertson, Alan (12 February 2016). "MSPs pass Community Justice Bill amid ongoing concerns over funding". Holyrood . Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.

External links

• Progress of the bill at Scottish Parliament