The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee is seeking views on the general principles of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Bill, which was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 19 March 2015. A copy of the Bill and accompanying documents can be found at the following link:
The Policy Memorandum on the Bill sets out the overarching policy objectives of the Bill.
Further details on the Bill are contained in those documents.
The Justice Committee expects to take oral evidence on the Bill at meetings on 5, 12, 19, and 26 May, before reporting on the general principles in June 2015.
The Committee is particularly interested in hearing views on the following questions—
- whether the circumstances for mandatory FAIs provided for in the Bill are sufficient;
- whether the circumstances provided for in the Bill in respect of discretionary inquiries are appropriate;
- whether there are alternative approaches that should be considered;
- whether the provisions in relation to FAIs into deaths abroad are appropriate;
- whether the provisions in relation to the pre-inquiry procedure are appropriate;
- what are the practical implications of the provisions of the Bill.
Format of written submissions
The Justice Committee invites all interested organisations and individuals to submit written evidence on the provisions in the Bill no later than 5.00 pm on Tuesday 28 April 2015.
Before you draft a submission, please read the Parliament’s policy on the treatment of written evidence by subject and mandatory committees. Please also ensure that your submission:
- is up to 4 sides of A4 (longer submissions should include a short summary of the main issues)
- is set out with numbered paragraphs
- includes hyperlinks or full citations when you are referring to existing published material (rather than quoting extensive extracts)
- is provided electronically in word processing format (e.g. Microsoft Word or Apple pages) wherever possible.
Your submission will be published on the Committee webpages. However, if you would prefer your evidence to be treated confidentially, please contact the justice clerks (at the contact details below) before submitting your evidence. It is for the Committee to take any decisions on whether to accept a submission on the basis that it will not be published (although it would be seen in full by the Committee). The Parliament is however required to consider requests for information under freedom of information legislation and therefore we cannot guarantee that the evidence will never be released.
Submit your evidence
by email to: [email protected]
or in hard copy to:
Justice Committee Clerks
Room T2.60
The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
If you have any queries about written submissions, please contact the justice clerks on 0131 348 5047 or at the contact details above.