Meetings regarding return to legal time limit for prisoners to be on remand: FOI release

Information requested

For the dates of meetings held by the Scottish Government in which ministers or officials have discussed returning to a legal time limit for prisoners to be on remand, we have records of meetings taking place on the following dates at which the return to pre-pandemic time limits in solemn remand cases was discussed:

2 November 2021 - Meeting between Criminal Justice Division officials and Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans.

11 November 2021 - Meeting between Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans and Lord Advocate

10 January 2025 - Meeting between Criminal Justice Division officials and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) officials

22 January 2025 - Meeting between Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs and the Law Officers

5 February 2025 - Internal meeting between Criminal Justice Division officials

25 April 2025 - Meeting between Criminal Justice Division officials and COPFS officials.

Response

As set out in my acknowledgement letter of 16 May, we have interpreted your question as referring to discussions of returning to the pre-pandemic criminal procedure time limits that apply where an accused person is being held on remand prior to trial, which are contained at section 65 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, as temporarily modified by paragraph 22 of the schedule of the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.