Scottish Sentencing Council to operate from 19 October

The Scottish Sentencing Council will begin to operate on 19 October, under an order now laid before the Scottish Parliament.

Under the commencement order the new Sheriff Appeal Court can require the Council to prepare and review sentencing guidelines in the same way as the High Court.

Other measures being put in place to ensure the Council is fully functional include a draft order giving the Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service the power to pay members' expenses. The rates for lay members will be set by the Scottish Ministers, while those for judicial and legal members will be set by the Lord Justice General.

Recruitment of Council members continues and appointments will be made in time for the formal establishment of the Council. Responding to concerns raised by Holyrood's Justice Committee that the Council was not bound by the Scottish Government's target of achieving gender parity in boardrooms by 2020, the Lord Justice Clerk, as acting head of the judiciary, confirmed that he was "keen to ensure that there is due regard to the principles of equality and diversity, whilst recognising the need to have the best candidates appointed to the Scottish Sentencing Council", in the words of a spokesperson.

“The selection process is heavily dependent upon the nature of the applying candidates and is being carried out with best practice in public appointments in mind. Applications have been welcomed and encouraged from the widest possible range of eligible persons and particularly from protected groups covered by the Equality Act 2010.”