Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022 - proposed extension of temporary justice provisions: statement of reasons

Provisions proposed for expiry

100. This section briefly summarises the provisions in the schedule that are being expired by the 2024 Regulations, and the reasons that the Scottish Government proposes for expiring them.

Part 5, Chapter 1: Criminal procedure time limits – summary only

101. This provision applies to summary-only offences where no alternative time limit has been provided for in statute. Under the current extended time limit, prosecutions must be initiated within 12 months of an offence being committed. The pre-pandemic time limit was 6 months. There is no mechanism to allow this time limit to be extended on a case-by-case basis. That means that if the time limit is breached, the case will fall.

102. This provision was kept in place for a further year in November 2023 principally because of the backlogs and capacity issues with forensic testing in drug driving cases, which meant that there was a real risk that drug driving cases could be time-barred if the time limit extension provision had been expired.

103. The Scottish Police Authority undertook considerable work to put in place additional capacity to analyse forensic samples in suspected drug-driving cases. Therefore, at this stage, this time limit is no longer required.

Part 7: Prisons and young offenders institutions: power to release early

104. Paragraph 25 of the schedule gives the Scottish Ministers a power to make regulations to release certain groups of people from prisons and YOIs early, if Ministers are satisfied that is a necessary and proportionate response to the effects (or anticipated) effects of Covid-19 on a prison or on prisons generally. The regulations must be for the purpose of protecting the security and order of the prison concerned or protecting the health, safety and welfare of those accommodated or working in the prison.

105. Part 7 is no longer relevant as it has been superseded by the coming into force of section 11 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 in May 2024.