Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill: business and regulatory impact assessment

Benefits

Option 1 – Do nothing

There will largely be no immediate additional costs arising from this option.

If the provisions in the 2020 Act were implemented instead of the measures in the Bill which relate to special measures in civil cases, there will be costs. These would, however, be less than taking forward the measures in the Bill and might be quicker generally, as there would be fewer issues to consider. This option would benefit vulnerable witnesses and parties in certain family cases, which would be a significant proportion of civil cases generally.

Option 2 - Non-regulatory / more restricted legislation

This option will generate fewer immediate costs and may provide some improvements in terms of people's experiences of the justice system.

It may result in some longer-term savings through more efficient management of sexual offences cases by establishing specialist divisions in existing courts to prosecute such cases.

Option 3 – Regulatory option

A number of measures in the Bill require legislation, so this will enable the full package of reforms to be taken forward. The Bill will strengthen the rights of and enhance support for victims, witnesses and vulnerable parties and ensure consistency of approach nationally.

There will be potential savings for SCTS through the reduction in jury size. Reducing the amount of time spent on jury duty by 20% could result in savings for all businesses, third sector, and public sector organisations across Scotland who would have to excuse fewer staff for this civic duty, as well as reduced upheaval making alternative staffing arrangements, and lower spending for those employers who opt to compensate employees during periods of jury service.

It is likely that a reduction in jury size will have particular impact on both larger businesses, which may currently have to accommodate on average more members of staff on jury duty, and smaller businesses which may find the inconvenience of absent employees more of a burden.

The model of Sexual Offences Court provided for by the Bill is intended to facilitate a more flexible use of the existing court estate as well as of other court and judicial resources, resulting in more efficient and effective management of sexual offence cases. This is anticipated to result in savings in the longer term.