Schedule – Domestic Homicide Or Suicide Reviews: Public Appointments
Paragraph 1 – Offices to which this schedule applies
253.Paragraph 1 sets out the positions which are referred to in this schedule as “relevant offices”. These positions are the chair of the review oversight committee, the deputy chair of the review oversight committee, and a case review panel chair (i.e. someone appointed to serve as a panel chair, regardless of whether they have been allocated to a specific panel yet). Those filling those positions are referred to as “
Paragraph 2 – Status
254.Paragraph 2 provides that a relevant office-holder is not to be regarded as being a servant or agent of the Crown.
Paragraph 3 – Criteria for appointment
255.Paragraph 3(1) provides that a person is disqualified from being appointed a relevant office-holder if the person, at the time of being appointed or in the year preceding the appointment, has held any of the roles set out in this paragraph. This helps to ensure that the person is sufficiently independent, particularly from the bodies which might be involved in the review or which will already have sufficient representation on the committee from the appointments made from the nominations made by nominating bodies. These disqualification criteria continue to apply during a relevant office-holder’s time in office (see paragraph 5(b) of the schedule).
256.Paragraph 3(2) imposes further restrictions upon who can be appointed as a relevant office-holder, although these restrictions are not automatic in the same way as those in paragraph 3(1) are. When the Scottish Ministers are appointing relevant office-holders, they are required to have regard to the fact that it is desirable for the person not to be, or in the year preceding the appointment have been, a member, employee or appointee of an organisation which Ministers consider to be a victim-support organisation (which is not limited to victims of abusive domestic behaviour), or involved in the oversight of services in relation to victims of abusive domestic behaviour. An organisation might be considered to have “oversight” of services where it provides grant-funding which is subject to conditions and checks (either statutory or contractual), and the organisation essentially “polices” the work carried out. An appointee of an organisation is someone who is, for example, appointed by the organisation to represent it on some external forum or as one of its committee members, etc.
257.As with paragraph 3(1), this helps to ensure that the person is sufficiently independent, particularly from the bodies which might be involved in the review or which will already have sufficient representation on the committee from the appointments made from the nominations made by nominating bodies. However, there is no automatic disqualification here, as it will be for Ministers to consider what the organisation does, and the person’s role in it, before deciding if it should be disqualifying. For example, someone who has been involved as an auditor of an organisation may have no particular allegiance to it, and some organisations may provide services which are only peripherally about victims. Again, these criteria can be applied in a continuing way during a relevant office-holder’s time in office (see paragraph 5(c)(ii) of the schedule and the commentary on it at paragraph 264 of these Notes).
258.While this paragraph sets out the disqualification criteria which are unique to relevant office-holders, it should be noted that section 15(4) also provides that an individual may not be appointed to be a member of a case review panel if the individual is, or within the 3 years preceding the appointment has been, a member of the review oversight committee. This applies to chairs of case review panels just as it applies to ordinary members of case review panels.
259.Paragraph 3(3) provides a power to modify sub-paragraph (1) or (2) of this paragraph so as to add a person, vary the description of a person, or remove a person. This would allow for the adjustment of both the list of disqualified individuals in sub-paragraph (1) and also the list in sub-paragraph (2) of individuals who it is generally considered desirable not to appoint. This would be subject to the negative procedure (see section 32). This will allow the provision to be updated as necessary to avoid any conflicts of interest. In particular, the power could (but would not have to) be used in conjunction with an organisation being named as a nominating body through use of the power in section 14(5). Under sub-paragraph (4), the Scottish Ministers must consult such persons (if any) as they consider appropriate before making any regulations under this paragraph.
Paragraph 4 – Tenure
260.Paragraph 4(a) provides for the term of appointment of a relevant office-holder to be 5 years. This runs from the start of the person’s appointment as a relevant office-holder, meaning that if someone is appointed to the role of panel chair but is not immediately commissioned to sit on a particular panel, the 5 year period begins running immediately regardless.
261.Paragraph 4(b) allows a relevant office-holder’s term to be extended as long as the extension is for a year or less. Extension is envisaged as a less formal means of continuing on a person’s contract on a short-term basis. For example, this might be used where a new appointee is unable to start immediately and there is a desire not to have a gap between the current appointee and the new one. A person’s appointment could be extended on more than one occasion (for example, a 3 month extension might prove to be insufficient and another month needs to be added to it) but this would be subject to the overall cap of 1 year.
262.Paragraph 4(c) allows an individual to be reappointed, but the total period of appointment (including any extension) may not exceed 8 years. That maximum limit therefore aligns with the maximum period in the code of practice for Ministerial appointments to public bodies in Scotland. Reappointment is envisaged as a more substantial decision, closer to the process of the original appointment than the extension process would be.
Paragraph 5 – Early termination
263.Paragraph 5 sets out the circumstances under which a relevant office-holder’s appointment may be terminated early. They may resign, or they may become disqualified from holding office under paragraph 3 (for example, because they take up employment as a civil servant). They can also be removed from office by the Scottish Ministers where Ministers believe the person is unable to perform the functions of the office or is unsuitable to continue to hold the office.
264.The Scottish Ministers’ power of removal could be used in a variety of different cases – for example, the unsuitability ground could be used because of public statements made by the person which are incompatible with the ethos of the review model. However, it could simply be that the person, while having done nothing wrong, has taken up a role which does not lead to automatic disqualification, but which might have led to them not being appointed had they held that role earlier (see paragraph 3(2)). The power to remove on the ground of being unable to perform the functions could be used where the person has become unwell but does not resign (for example, because they have lost capacity and so can no longer do so).
Paragraph 6 – Remuneration and allowances
265.Paragraph 6 enables the Scottish Ministers to set and pay such remuneration and allowances (including expenses) to a relevant office-holder as they determine. It will be for Ministers to decide whether payments are made and the amounts of any payments. Provision is not made in respect of pensions as these are not to be pensionable appointments.
266.The Scottish Ministers must indemnify a relevant office-holder for liabilities incurred by them in the exercise of their functions.
Paragraph 7 – Other terms and conditions
267.Under paragraph 7, the Scottish Ministers may determine the terms and conditions of a relevant office-holder’s appointment insofar as not already set out in the Act.
Paragraph 8 – Validity of things done
268.Paragraph 8 provides that the validity of any acts of a relevant office-holder are unaffected by any procedural defects in their appointment or them subsequently becoming disqualified from acting as the relevant office-holder.
Paragraph 9 – Review oversight committee: appointment of temporary chair
269.Paragraph 9(1) allows the Scottish Ministers to appoint a person to step in and perform the function of chair of the review oversight committee where it is unable to be fulfilled by either the chair or the deputy chair (either because the role is vacant or because the person is unable to act). This appointment could be made from among the other individuals on the committee, but it could equally be someone who is appointed to the committee on a temporary basis specifically for that purpose (for example, a temporary appointment could be made from the reserve list of candidates identified in the most recent interview round).
270.No equivalent provision is made in relation to the chairs of case review panels as the fact that there is a pool of individuals who are able to act as such chairs (see section 15(2)) will allow another chair to step in and fill any gap.
271.Paragraph 9(2) provides that an individual who is disqualified for appointment as the chair of the committee cannot be appointed as the acting chair. This means that anyone who is disqualified under paragraph 3(1) would be ineligible. Someone who had already served a full 8 years as chair would also be ineligible for appointment as chair and therefore would be unable to be appointed as the acting chair. Further, the rules on those who Ministers are discouraged from appointing apply equally to the appointment of an acting chair.
272.Paragraph 9(3) provides that an individual appointed as acting chair may be dismissed by the Scottish Ministers at any time, may resign at any time, and is appointed on such terms and conditions (including as to remuneration) as Ministers determine.
