90.Subsection (1) modifies section 302 of the 1995 Act, which deals with the offer by a procurator fiscal of a fixed penalty in lieu of criminal proceedings. It amends section 302(7A) to provide that the maximum available penalty that may be offered by the procurator fiscal under that section is £500. It then inserts a new subsection (7B), which provides the Scottish Ministers with the power to substitute the sum of £500 for a higher sum by way of regulations. The 1995 Act already contained a power to alter the maximum available penalty by way of subordinate legislation (see previous subsection (7A)), but the new power allows the change to be made on the face of the 1995 Act rather than having to remain in a separate piece of secondary legislation. Section 302(8) of the 1995 Act is also amended to require regulations made under subsection (7B) to be laid in draft before, and approved by resolution of, the Scottish Parliament.
91.Subsection (2) substitutes the scale for fixed penalties in the 2008 Order with a new scale. This scale replicates the scale that was temporarily added to the Order by the 2022 Act. This scale will continue to be able to be adjusted in future through the use of subordinate legislation, as provided for under the existing power found in section 302(7) of the 1995 Act (which became a power of the Scottish Ministers under section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998).
Interpretation Part 1: Criminal Justice Modernisation Section 8 – Increase of fixed penalty limit