Miscellaneous
Section 87: Retention of scheme records after removal
179.Section 87 inserts a new subsection (3) into section 61 of the PVG Act, so that if Ministers decide under section 59A(1) of the PVG Act not to continue with a consideration case, they can retain information about the scheme member who applied to be removed from the Scheme under section 59 while under consideration for listing.
Section 88: Offences outside Scotland
180.Section 88 introduces sections 37A and 47G into the PVG Act. These sections ensure that Scottish courts have clear jurisdiction over offences under sections 34, 35, 36, 45C, 45D, 45E or 45F of the PVG Act where the acts constituting the offence take place outside Scotland. For instance, this will ensure that an offence under section 35 of the PVG Act, committed by a non-Scottish organisation of offering a barred individual for a regulated role in Scotland, can be prosecuted in Scotland.
Section 89: Guidance for chief constable
181.This section inserts section 84A into the PVG Act and provides that Ministers must issue guidance to the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland about the chief constable’s functions under Parts 1 and 2 of the PVG Act (see section 63 for guidance with regard to the chief constable’s functions under Part 1 of the Act). Guidance can only be issued after Ministers have consulted the chief constable. The guidance can be reviewed as necessary. The chief constable must have regard to the guidance when exercising any functions under Part 1 or 2 of the PVG Act.
Section 90: Meaning of “conviction”
182.Section 90 inserts a definition of “conviction” into section 97(1) of the PVG Act, and also inserts the term into the Act’s index in schedule 5. The meaning of conviction is derived from the 1974 Act. This ensures that a consistent definition of conviction applies throughout the PVG Act (previously the definition only applied for the purposes of Part 2).
183.The meaning of conviction now applies throughout the PVG Act, and “convicted” is construed accordingly except in relation to section 14. A narrower definition is needed for section 14, which deals with automatic listing, so that it does not include disposals by way of absolute discharge – see section 247 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.
