S1M-2698 Child Witness Reform

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Mr Murray Tosh): I would now like to begin the members' business debate on motion S1M-2698, in the name of Gil Paterson, on child witness reform.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament welcomes the report Justice for Children - The Welfare of Children in the Justice System; commends Children 1st, Childline, NCH Scotland and the other participants for producing this report, and considers that the Scottish Executive should look closely at the findings and recommendations of the report and act accordingly.

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Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): I congratulate Gil Paterson and all the speakers on the non-partisan and constructive way in which the debate has proceeded thus far. I do not intend to break the consensus. I also congratulate the organisations that produced the "Justice for Children" report, which is the basis of much that has been said tonight.

Like Donald Gorrie, I was pleased that the Parliament has been able to deal with one category of vulnerable witness—complainers in sexual offence cases. I look forward to what we may be able to do for children, who are in another category of vulnerable witnesses.

Personal experience always reinforces a general point. Let me give what is, to be honest, a trivial example from my own life. When I was about seven or eight, I was sitting on the front wall when a bus gently reversed into a car at about 5mph. A policewoman interviewed me because there was a dispute between the drivers over who was responsible for the incident. It is a tribute to how impressionable I was that, when someone in authority and in a uniform came to see me, I was quite confused and disturbed by the questioning process. I still remember that, despite the fact that it was a trivial incident in which I was not involved—I was merely a spectator. How much more traumatic is such questioning for a child, of whatever age, who has been involved in an incident that eventually leads to a court case?

Members will know of my constituency interest in HMP Peterhead, which contains around 200 paedophiles and 300 sexual offenders in total. A prison officer told me a story that illustrates the subtle ways in which children can be affected and influenced by what goes on in their lives. The story concerns a child who had been through the justice system and whose father had been convicted, quite properly. Toward the end of the sentence, a reconciliation interview took place and both child—by this time, a late teenager—and father were brought together. The father sat and talked in a friendly way with his daughter, but throughout the interview he clicked a pen. At the end of the interview, when the father was taken away, the daughter broke down in tears because the father had used a pen to abuse her. Sometimes the signals between adult and youth are subtle and not understood by us.

I welcome the opportunity to debate the subject of justice in the criminal justice system, particularly when the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is under close attention. We will debate the detail of that on another occasion, but in the review of resources in the COPFS, there is a recognition at paragraph 1.4.4 that special skills are required when one is dealing with child witnesses. However, I note in passing that the vision and objectives of the COPFS make no reference to children as a group that the service should be paying particular attention to.

When I was a child, I had a Barnardos box into which I put the occasional coin, but I thought no more about children who had problems. This debate ensures that we have brought to our attention the needs and concerns of young people—it is not just about putting tuppence in a Barnardos box.

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