Question reference: S5W-31580
- Asked by: Margaret Mitchell, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 3 September 2020
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Current status: Answered by Ash Denham on 17 September 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to raise awareness of the Advice and Assistance (Proceedings for Recovery of Documents) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.
Answer
In 2018-19, the Scottish Government provided funding to Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) to support the development of materials to ensure complainers were aware of their rights in response to the Advice and Assistance (Proceedings for Recovery of Documents) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.
A leaflet for complainers’ explaining their rights when their personal records are being sought has been produced by RCS. A link to the leaflet is included in the information provided by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service to complainers in High Court cases when informing them that an application has been made to access their sensitive records. An extension to all such applications in the Sheriff Courts will be put in place soon.
The total funding of just under £11,000 was also used to design and deliver training for solicitors who act for complainers on this issue with the aim of ensuring that they have appropriate knowledge and skills to effectively assist complainers in representing any privacy concerns in relation to their sensitive records being obtained by the defence.