Equally Safe - forensic medical services: consultation analysis

Annex B: Full summary of responses

Full consultation paper: (41 responses)

Analysis of the individual question responses to the full consultation paper.

Question 1: “Do you agree with the proposal that the retention period for evidence collected in the course of self-referral forensic medical services be 26 months (2 years, 2 months)?”

Response: Number of Responses

• Yes: 25
• No – the period should be longer: 11
• No – the period should be shorter: 1
• Don't know: 0
• No Answer: 4
• Total Responses: 41

Question 2: “If you indicated in your response to question 1 that the retention period should be shorter than 26 months, what should it be?”

Suggested Retention Period: Number of Responses

• 15 months (and certainly no longer than 18 months): 1
• Total Responses: 1

Question 3: “If you indicated in your response to question 1 that the retention period should be longer than 26 months, what should it be?”

Suggested Retention Period: Number of Responses

• 2 years 6 months (30 months): 1
• 4 years 2 months (for specific groups of people): 1
• 4-5 years: 1
• 5 years: 2
• Minimum of 5 years: 1
• 5 years 2 months: 1
• 10 years: 1
• Until survivor either decides to report or request destruction: 1
• As long as possible: 1
• No suggested retention period: 1
• Total Responses: 11

Question 4: “Do you have any views on potential impacts of the proposals in this paper, not sufficiently covered in the existing impact assessments, on child rights and wellbeing, data protection, equality, socio-economic equality (the Fairer Scotland Duty), people in rural or island communities, or human rights?”

• Of the 42 responses to the full questionnaire there were no new or updated impact assessments suggested.
• 27 respondents to this question said they had no concerns relating to impact assessments, 3 responses stating they considered the existing impact assessments to be sufficient and covered all points.
• 11 respondents to this question indicated they had concerns, however none of the concerns related to the content of the existing impact assessments or a requirement for additional impact assessments: concerns expressed related to the retention period and how the self-referral service would operate.

Easy read consultation paper: (22 responses)

48. Analysis of the individual question responses to the easy read consultation paper.

Question 1: “Do you agree that this evidence should be destroyed after 2 years and 2 months?”

Response: Number of Responses

• Agreed with the 26 months: 7
• Disagreed with 26 months: 14
• Unsure: 1
• Total Responses: 22

Question 2: “If you do not agree that evidence should be destroyed after 2 years and 2 months, how long do you think it should be kept for?”

Suggested Retention Period: Number of Responses

• 11 months: 1
• 1 year: 1
• Around 5 years: 1
• 5-10 years: 1
• 10 years: 1
• 10 years 2 months: 1
• 20 years: 1
• As long as the victim wants it to be: 1
• Indefinitely: 1
• Lifetime: 1
• Forever: 1
• Unable to suggest a retention period: 3
• Total Responses: 14

Question 3: “Why do you feel that way?”

The points raised are covered within the "Summary of Responses".