VWTC/07/05
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1. Members will be aware that the Victims and witnesses unit has been negotiating with ENABLE to produce draft guidance on the needs of of witnesses with special needs for inclusion in the Vulnerable Witnesses Act Guidance pack.
2. You will see from the Unit's letter of 14 March attached that the Unit is minded to grant fund this work subject to certain caveats being addressed.
3. Members will be offered the opportunity to comment on the draft guidance once it is to hand.
SEJD
Victims and Witnesses Unit
March 2005
ANNEX
Justice Department
Victims and Witnesses Unit
Nicola Smith>
ENABLE
6 th Floor
7 Buchanan Street
Glasgow
G1 3HL | St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Telephone: 0131-244 2690
Fax: 0131-244 3548
Bill.moore@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
http://www.scotland.gov.uk
Your ref:
Our ref:
14 March 2005 |
Dear Nicola
GUIDANCE PACK ON VULNERABLE WITNESSES (SCOTLAND) ACT 2004
Than you for your e-mail and attachments of 9 March setting out ENABLE's plan for producing draft guidance on the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004.
The plan you enclosed is broadly acceptable, however, we do have one or two caveats. The first is that the guidance should not be used as a platform for ENABLE's view that people with learning disabilities should have an automatic right to special measures under the Act.
Secondly we would expect that such guidance would cover witnesses with special needs more generally (see my letter of 21 January to Catherine Montgomery) and I hope you can accommodate this.
Thirdly I am not sure what you mean about guidance on young people and children which you intend to produce sitting better with the information on children which you mention in the final sentence of your e-mail.
We accept that it will not be possible for you to provide a précis of your guidance for insertion in each piece of guidance we are currently producing. It would be helpful, however, if you could nevertheless provide a précis of your stand alone work which we could insert as a standard feature in any future editions of the various pieces of guidance in the guidance pack.
Clearly your target date of 30 March for completion of this work will have slipped given that it is now 14 March but we can be flexible about this though it would be helpful if you could let me have a revised expected completion date.
As indicated in my letter of 2 nd March to Mike Holmes payment will be made on satisfactory completion of this work.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries about this letter.
Yours sincerely
W J MOORE