Introduction Integrated Management Of Offenders
3.Sections 1-9 introduce a number of provisions which have the effect of reforming the planning and co-ordination of offender management services in Scotland. The provisions establish new functions and duties on the principal agencies associated with offender management, namely local authorities and Scottish Ministers (in practice the Scottish Prison Service). As the Scottish Prison Service is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Executive, any functions that will in practice be undertaken by it have to be conferred on Scottish Ministers.
4.The Act provides for the establishment of community justice authorities by the Scottish Ministers. The number and boundaries of each community justice authority will be established by order following consultation with local authorities. It is however anticipated that most of the community justice authorities will cover the geographical area of more than one local authority. Community justice authorities will be responsible for the planning, co-ordination and monitoring of the delivery of community offender services, that is, those offender services delivered by local authorities. Delivery of services remains the responsibility of each local authority. However, the Act is drafted to allow community justice authorities scope to deliver such services, on behalf of local authorities, if the local authorities so choose, or to deliver the services in place of the local authorities if Scottish Ministers provide by order. The Act also allows community justice authorities to deliver certain functions relating to the rehabilitation of prisoners that are currently delivered by Scottish Ministers through the Scottish Prison Service.
5.The more integrated planning of offender services should be achieved through the preparation of an area plan that will be presented to Scottish Ministers. The document itself will represent a joint plan, showing how the community justice authority, the relevant local authorities and the Scottish Ministers (in practice the Scottish Prison Service) will work within the boundaries of the community justice authority area to ensure offender services are delivered in a consistent and coherent way. Community justice authorities will be placed under an additional duty consulting with local bodies to ensure that other organisations involved with offender management services are able to contribute to plan development.
6.In submitting the area plan to Scottish Ministers for approval, the community justice authority will be able to refer to guidance and performance targets provided by Scottish Ministers. Scottish Ministers will be assisted in the production of guidance and targets by a non-statutory national advisory body which the Executive will establish during 2005-06 and which will allow key criminal justice bodies a high level input into the development of strategic shared objectives for the management of offenders. As the national body is advisory in nature, no reference to it is made in the Act.
7.Scottish Ministers recognise that many other agencies have a role in offender management and that it is important that these bodies both cooperate and contribute to the improved framework for offender management. Relevant agencies are not identified in the Act but will be through an order to allow consultation on this matter and also to prevent the need to amend primary legislation should any body change its name or cease to exist or a new relevant body comes into existence.
8.The co-ordination and monitoring duties of the community justice authority will be supported by a chief officer. Staff transfer from local authorities to a community justice authority is not required under the provisions within the Act although the authorities will have the power to employ staff. However, community justice authorities are obliged to employ a chief officer to be accountable both to the community justice authority and to Scottish Ministers for the delivery of community justice authority duties. The chief officer will be expected to report on the compliance of local authorities, the Scottish Prison Service and other agencies with duties prescribed under the terms of the Act. These functions are provided for in the Act.
9.Scottish Ministers will also require new powers to develop guidance for plans and performance targets, to approve or reject submitted plans and to take appropriate steps should parties fail to meet their obligations. Ministerial powers of intervention are not specifically required with regard to the Scottish Prison Service given its status as an Executive Agency and further powers are not required in the Act. For community justice authorities, powers do require to be specified in the Act. The model of intervention powers taken in the Act follows those recently accepted by the Parliament in the School Education (Ministerial Powers and Independent Schools)(Scotland) Act 2004. This allows for a staged and proportionate approach to intervention, allowing the opportunity for community justice authorities to respond to any claim of failure on their part. Scottish Ministers will only be able to issue directions if they have first issued guidance and the authority has either failed to comply or is unlikely to do so. Scottish Ministers will then be required to give notice to the community justice authority of their intention to issue directions. The community justice authority will have a right of appeal to the Sheriff against any directions issued. The Act contains powers for addressing performance of individual local authorities by giving the relevant community justice authority power to issue mandatory directions. There is no requirement on the community justice authority to give the local authority notice of the intention to issue such directions nor is there a right of appeal to the Sheriff.