(This note is not part of the Order)
Where a restitution order is imposed on an individual under section 253A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”), all monies received by the court in payment of the order are to be paid to the Scottish Ministers under section 253B(1). The Scottish Ministers are then obliged under section 253B(2) to pay all monies so received into a fund to be known as the Restitution Fund (“the Fund”). This Order provides for the delegation of the establishment, maintenance and administration of the Fund and makes further provision for the administration of the Fund.
Article 3 of this Order delegates the establishment, maintenance and administration of the Fund to the Scottish Police Benevolent Fund (“the operator”).
Article 4 makes general provision about the administration of the Fund by the operator. Under Article 4(2), the Scottish Ministers are obliged to prepare and publish a guidance document about the operation of the Fund. The first such guidance must be published within six months of this Order coming into force and must be laid before the Scottish Parliament as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter. The operator must have regard to the need to promote equality and diversity and prevent discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the administration of the Fund and must also have regard to the guidance published by the Scottish Ministers.
Article 5 makes provision for the payment of monies from the Fund. No payments may be made out of the Fund during the first six months of its operation. Payments can only be made to a person providing or securing the provision of support services for victims (as defined in section 254B(3) of the 1995 Act) following the receipt of a written or electronic application from that person and the approval of that application by the operator. The operator may reject an application if they consider that there are insufficient monies in the Fund although this is without prejudice to the operator’s general discretion to determine applications. Payments from the Fund may be made subject to conditions but there are two mandatory conditions which must be attached to every payment from the Fund: (1) that the payment must be used for specified purposes; and (2) the payment must be repaid on demand if any condition is not complied with.
Article 6 provides details of the matters which must be recorded by the operator and for how long those records must be kept.
Article 7 places an obligation on the operator to prepare, and send to the Scottish Ministers, an annual report on the administration of the Fund. The report must then be published by the operator at least two weeks after it has been sent to the Scottish Ministers. Each report must document the information recorded by the operator under article 6. The first report covers the period from first payment into the Fund until 31 March 2022 and subsequent reports cover the twelve months preceding 31 March in each subsequent year.