The Creation of a Specific Offence of Domestic Abuse - Proposed Associated Reforms to Criminal Procedure

Details of proposed reforms to criminal procedure in relation to domestic abuse.


What Happens Next

47. The First Minister announced on 6 September 2016 that the Scottish Government would introduce into Parliament a Domestic Abuse Bill during the Parliamentary year 2016/17.

48. The Scottish Government is considering whether to include within this Bill the ancillary provisions as detailed in this document. If you would like to offer views on the proposals, please do so in one of the following ways:

  • By email - Philip.lamont@gov.scot
  • By post - Philip Lamont, Room GWR, St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG

49. If you consider there are other ancillary provisions that should also be considered for inclusion in the Bill, please let us know using the contact details above.

50. Separate from the publication of this paper, the Scottish Government is continuing to consider the feedback offered to the draft domestic abuse offence. This includes in relation to feedback suggesting that the offence requires to be strengthened to acknowledge the impact domestic abuse has on children. This document does not include details of potential changes to the offence and we will continue to engage with stakeholders over the terms of the draft offence before we introduce a Bill into Parliament in year 1 of this Parliamentary session.

Criminal Justice Division
Scottish Government
October 2016

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