Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

52 Right to referral by Police Scotland to victim support services

(1) The 2014 Act is amended as follows.

(2) In section 3D (referral to providers of victim support services)—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) in the opening words, after “person that—” insert—

“(za) victim support services are available to victims and, with reference to subsection (5), what is meant by victim support services,”,

(ii) for paragraph (a), and the word “and” immediately following it, substitute—

“(a) the person is entitled, at any time, to have their details passed by any competent authority to such providers of victim support services as are appropriate to the person’s needs for the purpose of contacting the person to offer the services, in a process known as referral,

(aa) if the person elects to be referred, the person may, at any later time, elect to discontinue the referral or cease to receive the victim support services,”,

(iii) after paragraph (b), insert “, and

(c) if the person elects to contact providers directly without being referred, the person will be provided with the information necessary to do so.”,

(b) for subsection (2) substitute—

“(2) Where the person intimates to a competent authority that the person wishes to be referred to providers of victim support services, the authority must, subject to the consent of the person, disclose the person’s details to such providers of victim support services as the authority considers appropriate to the person’s needs, as soon as is reasonably practicable.

(2A) Where the person intimates to a competent authority that the person wishes to contact providers of victim support services directly without being referred, the authority must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, provide the person with the name, address and telephone number of the providers of victim support services.”,

(c) in subsection (3), for “(1) and (2)”, “substitute (1) to (2A)”,

(d) in subsection (4), for “a request made”, in every place it occurs, substitute “an intimation”,

(e) after subsection (4), insert—

“(4A) The chief constable must make and publish guidance for constables on the process of referring a person who is or appears to be a victim in relation to an offence or alleged offence to victim support services under this section.

(4B) The chief constable must keep the guidance published under subsection (4A) under review and may modify it from time to time, in which case the chief constable must publish the modified guidance.”,

(f) the title of section 3D becomes “Victims’ right to access support services”.