| CIRCULAR NO: SWSG10/91 5439 30 April 1991
Dear Sir/Madam
LAW REFORM (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) (SCOTLAND) ACT 1990:
COMMENCEMENT (NO 5 ) ORDER
Summary
1. This circular draws attention to Sections 61, 62 and
Schedules 6 and 8 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990, which
came into force on 1 April 1991 as a result of the commencement order made on 28 March
1991. An extract of Sections 61, 62 and Schedules 6 and 8 is attached as an Appendix to
this circular. Copies of the 1990 Act can be obtained from HMSO Bookshop, 71 Lothian Road,
Edinburgh.
Sections 61 and Schedule 8
2. Section 61 empowers the Secretary of State to refund to
local authorities approved expenditure incurred by them in providing probation, parole
supervision, social enquiry and related reports and aspects of throughcare. It also makes
various amendments to the statutory provisions governing these services and community
service.
Probation
3. Subsection 1(a) and (b) amends sections 183 and 384 of
the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 to provide that prior to the making of a
probation order, the court must be satisfied that the local authority has the capacity to
provide supervision in that particular case. Subsection 1(c) broadens the range of
requirements which may be attached to a probation order to include any which are conducive
to (instead of "necessary for") preventing reoffending. Subsection (2) enables
an officer appointed by the Director of Social Work to provide evidence on oath where a
probationer has failed to comply with any of the requirements of an order.
Community Service
4. Subsection (3) amends section 1(1) of the Community
Service by Offenders (Scotland) Act 1978 so that a court may make a community service
order only instead of imposing on the offender a sentence of, or including, imprisonment
or any other form of detention.
5. Paragraph 28 of Schedule 8 amends section 4 of the
Community Service by Offenders (Scotland) Act 1978 by adding a new subsection (3). This
provides that the evidence of one witness shall be sufficient evidence to establish that
an offender has failed to comply with the requirements of the order set out in section 3
of the Act.
Throughcare
6. Subsection (4)(a) extends the scope of section 27(1) of
the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to require the provision by social work authorities of
advice, guidance and assistance to persons who, within 12 months of their release from
prison or any other form of detention, request such help.
Social Enquiry and Other Reports
7. Subsection (4)(b) requires probation and community
service schemes to set out the matters to be included in any report requested by the court
and prepared by the local authority.
Funding by Central Government
8. Subsection (5) amends section 27A of the Social Work
(Scotland) Act 1968 so that the power of the Secretary of State to pay grant will extend
to, first, the provision of social background and other reports under section 27(1)(a)
and, second, to services to all the categories of persons mentioned in section 27(1)(b),
ie persons under supervision.
9. Subsection (6) extends section 27B of the Social Work
(Scotland) Act 1968 to allow payment of grant to social work authorities in respect of the
provision of residential accommodation for additional categories of offenders, eg those on
bail or those released from prison without a supervision requirement.
Section 62 and Schedule 6: Supervised Attendance Orders
10. Section 62 and Schedule 6 introduce supervised
attendance orders as an additional option available to the courts when dealing with fine
default. The provisions enable supervised attendance orders to be introduced on an
incremental, court-by-court basis. Supervised attendance orders will attract 100% central
government funding and will be supervised and managed by local authorities. National
guidelines for the operation and management of supervised attendance orders are being
prepared and will be issued following consultations. The guidelines will be tested in
practice and will eventually form the basis for National Standards. It is hoped that
supervised attendance orders might be made available to some courts early in 1992.
Contact Point
14. If you have any queries about the contents of this
Circular, please contact Susan Malcolm, Social Work Services Group, Room 16A, James Craig
Walk, Edinburgh EH1 3BA (telephone 0131 244 5439).
Yours faithfully
LESLEY CLARE
LAW REFORM (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS)
(SCOTLAND) ACT 1990
TREATMENT OF OFFENDERS
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61. -
(1) Sections 183 and 384 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (probation) shall
be amended as follows -
(a) at the beginning of subsection (1) of each section
there shall be inserted "Subject to subsection (1A) below"; |
Probation
and community service orders and supervision and care of persons on probation or released
from prison etc. |
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(b)
after subsection (1) of each section there shall be inserted the following subsection -
"(1A) A court shall not make a probation order under
subsection (1) above unless it is satisfied that suitable arrangements for the supervision
of the offender can be made by the local authority in whose area he resided or is to
reside.";
and |
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(c) in
subsection (4) of each section -
(i) for the words "necessary for" there shall be
substituted "conducive to"; and
(ii) for the word "for" in the second place where
it occurs there shall be substituted "to". |
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(2) In
subsection (1) of each of sections 186 and 387 of that Act (failure to comply with
probation order) -
(a) after the word "from" there shall be inserted
"(a)"; and
(b) after the word "probationer" where it first
occurs there shall be inserted -
"(b) the director of social work of the local
authority whose officer is supervising the probationer; or
(c) an officer appointed by the director of social work to
act on his behalf for the purposes of this subsection". |
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| 1978 c
49 |
(3) In
section 1(1) of the Community Service by Offenders (Scotland) Act 1978 (community service
orders), for the words "dealing with him in any other way" there shall be
submitted "imposing on him a sentence of, or including, imprisonment or any other
form of detention". |
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| 1968 c
49 |
(4) In
section 27 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (supervision and care of persons on
probation or released from prison etc) - |
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(a) at
the end of subsection (1) there shall be added -
"; and
(c) the provision of advice, guidance and assistance for
persons in their area who, within 12 months of their release from prison or any other form
of detention, request such advice, guidance or assistance."; and |
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(b)
after paragraph (a) of subsection (3) there shall be inserted the following paragraph -
"(aa) the matters to be included in such a
report;". |
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(5) In
section 27A of that Act (grants in respect of community service facilities) -
(a) at the beginning there shall be inserted
"(1)"; and |
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(b)
for the words from "for the purposes" to the end there shall be substituted -
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"(a)
for the purposes mentioned in section 27(1) of this Act;
and
(b) for such other similar purposes as the Secretary of
State may prescribe. |
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(2)
Before exercising his power under subsection (1)(b) above the Secretary of State shall
consult local authorities and such other bodies as he considers appropriate.".
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(6) In
section 27B of that Act (grants in respect of hostel accommodation for certain persons) -
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Part
IV |
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(a) at
the beginning there shall be inserted "(1)"; and |
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(b)
for the words from "sub-pargraphs (i) and (ii)" to the end there shall be
substituted - |
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"subsection
(2) below. |
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(2)
The persons referred to in subsection (1) above are - |
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(a)
persons mentioned in section 27(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of this Act; |
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(b)
persons who have been charged with an offence and are on bail; |
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(c)
persons who have been released from prison or any other forms of detention but do not fall
within section 27(1)(b)(ii) of this Act; and |
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(d)
such other classes of persons at the Secretary of State may prescribe. |
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(3)
Before exercising his power under subsection (2)(d) above the Secretary of State shall
consult local authorities and such other persons as he considers appropriate.".
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(7) In
section 94(1) of that Act (interpretation), in paragraph (c) of the definition of
"prescribed", after the word "sections" there shall be inserted
"27A, 27B". |
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62.
(1) A court may make a supervised attendance order in the circumstances specified in
subsection (3) below. |
Supervised
attendance orders as alternative to imprisonment on fine default. |
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(2) A
supervised attendance order is an order made by a court with the consent of an offender
requiring him - |
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(a) to
attend a place of supervision for such time, being 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 hours, as is
specified in the order; and |
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(b)
during that time, to carry out such instructions as may be given to him by the supervising
officer. |
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(3)
The circumstances are where - |
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(a)
the offender is of or over 16 years of age; and |
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(b)
having been convicted of an offence, he has had imposed on him a fine which (or any part
or instalment of which) he has failed to pay and either of the following sub-paragraphs
applies - |
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(I)
the court, prior to the commencement of this section, has imposed on him a period of
imprisonment under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 407 of the Criminal
Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (power of court, when imposing a fine, to impose also
imprisonment on default) but he has not served any of that period of imprisonment. |
1975
c. 21 |
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(ii)
the court, but for this section, would also have imposed on him a period of imprisonment
under that paragraph or paragraph (b) of that subsection (power of court to impose
imprisonment when a person fails to pay a fine or any part or instalment thereof); and
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| Part IV
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(c)
the court considers a supervised attendance order more appropriate than the serving of or,
as the case may be, imposition of such a period of imprisonment. |
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(4)
Where, in respect of an offender, a court makes a supervised attendance order in
circumstances where sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subsection (3) above applies,
the making of that order shall have the effect of discharging the sentence of imprisonment
imposed on the offender. |
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(5)
Schedule 6 to this Act has effect for the purpose of making further and qualifying
provisions as to supervised attendance orders. |
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(6) In
this section -
"local authority" means a regional or islands
council; |
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"place
of supervision" means such place as may be determined for the purposes of a
supervised attendance order by the supervising officer; and |
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"supervising
officer", in relation to a supervised attendance order, means a person appointed or
assigned under Schedule 6 to this Act by the local authority whose area includes the
locality in which the offender resides or will be residing when the order comes into
force. |
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LAW REFORM (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS)
(SCOTLAND) ACT 1990
SECTION 62
SCHEDULE 6
SUPERVISED ATTENDANCE ORDERS: FURTHER PROVISIONS
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1. (1)
A court shall not make a supervised attendance order in respect of any offender unless -
(a) the court has been notified by the Secretary of State
that arrangements exist for persons who reside in the locality in which the offender
resides, or will be residing when the order comes into force, to carry out the
requirements of such an order. |
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(b)
the court is satisfied that provision can be made under the arrangements mentioned in
paragraph (a) above for the offender to carry out such requirements. |
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(2)
Before making a supervised attendance order, the court shall explain to the offender in
ordinary language - |
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(a)
the purpose and effect of the order and in particular the obligations on the offender as
specified in paragraph 3 below: |
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(b)
the consequences which may follow under paragraph 4 below if he fails to comply with any
of those requirements; and |
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(c)
that the court has, under paragraph 5 below, the power to review the order on the
application either of the offender or of an officer of the local authority in whose area
the offender for the time being resides. |
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(3)
The Secretary of State may by order direct that subsection (2) of the section 62 of this
Act shall be amended by substituting, for any number of hours specified in that subsection
such other number of hours as may be specified in the order; and an order under this
subsection may in making such amendment specify different such numbers of hours for
different classes of case. |
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(4) An
order under paragraph (3) above shall be made by statutory instrument, but no such order
shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of,
each House of Parliament. |
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2. (1)
A supervised attendance order shall -
(a) specify the locality in which the offender resides or
will be residing when the order comes into force; and |
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(b)
require the local authority in whose area the locality specified under paragraph (a) above
is situated to appoint or assign a supervising officer. |
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(2)
Where, whether on the same occasion or on separate occasions, an offender is made subject
to more than one supervised attendance order, the court may direct that the requirements
specified in any of those orders shall be concurrent with or additional to those specified
in any other of those orders, but so that at no time shall the offender have an
outstanding number of hours during which he must carry out the requirements of these
orders in excess of the largest number specified in section 62 of this Act. |
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(3)
Upon making a supervised attendance order the court shall - |
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(a)
give a copy of the order to the offender; |
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(b)
send a copy of the order to the director of social work of the local authority in whose
area the offender resides or will be residing when the order comes into force; and |
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(c)
where it is not the appropriate court, send a copy of the order (together with such
documents and information relating to the case as are considered useful) to the clerk of
the appropriate court. |
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3. (1)
An offender in respect of whom a supervised attendance order is in force shall report to
the supervising officer and notify him without delay of any change of address or in the
times, if any, at which he usually works. |
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(2)
Subject to paragraph 5(1) below, instructions given under a supervised attendance order
shall be carried out during the period of twelve months beginning with the date of the
order; but, unless revoked, the order shall remain in force until the offender has carried
out the instructions given under it for the number of hours specified in it. |
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(3)
The instructions given by the supervising officer under the order shall, so far as
practicable, be such as to avoid any conflict with the offenders religious beliefs
and any interference with the times, if any, at which he normally works or attends a
school or other educational establishment. |
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4. (1)
If at any time while a supervised attendance order is in force in respect of any offender
it appears to the appropriate court, on evidence on oath from the supervising officer,
that that offender has failed to comply with any of the requirements of paragraph 3 above
or of the order (including any failure satisfactorily to carry out any instructions which
he has been given by the supervising officer under the order), the court may issue a
warrant for the arrest of that offender, or may, if it thinks fit, instead of issuing a
warrant in the first instance issue a citation requiring the offender to appear before
that court at such time as may be specified in the citation. |
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(2) If
it is proved to the satisfaction of the court before which an offender is brought or
appears in pursuance of sub-paragraph (1) above that he has failed without reasonable
excuse to comply with any of the requirements of paragraph 3 above or of the order
(including any failure satisfactorily to carry out any instructions which he has been
given by the supervising officer under the court), the court may - |
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(a)
revoke the order and impose such period of imprisonment as could, in respect of the
original default or failure, have been imposed by the court which made the order if the
order had not been made; or |
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(b)
subject to section 62 of this Act and paragraph 2(2) above, vary the number of hours
specified in the order. |
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(3)
The evidence of one witness shall, for the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) above, be
sufficient evidence. |
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5. (1)
Where a supervised attendance order is in force in respect of any offender and, on the
application of that offender or of the supervising officer, it appears to the appropriate
court that it would be in the interests of justice to do so having regard to circumstances
which have arisen since the order was made, the court may - |
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(a)
extend, in relation to the order, the period of twelve months specified in paragraph 3
above; |
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(b)
subject to section 62 of this Act and paragraph 2(2) above, vary the number of hours
specified in the order; |
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(c)
revoke the order; or |
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(d)
revoke the order and impose such period of imprisonment as could, in respect of the
original default or failure, have been imposed by the court which made the order if the
order had not been made. |
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(2) If
the appropriate court is satisfied that the offender proposes to change, or has changed,
his residence from the locality for the time being specified under paragraph 2(1)(a) above
to another locality and - |
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(a)
that court has been notified by the Secretary of State that arrangements exist for person
who reside in that other locality to carry out instructions under supervised attendance
orders; and |
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(b) it
appears to that court that provision can be made under those arrangements for him to carry
out instructions under the order. |
SCH.6 |
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that
court may, and on application of the supervising officer shall, amend the order by
substituting that other locality for the locality for the time being specified in the
order; and the provisions of section 62 of this Act and of this Schedule shall apply to
the order as amended. |
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(3)
Where the court proposes to exercise its powers under sub-paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (d)
above otherwise than on the application of the offender, it shall issue a citation
requiring him to appear before the court and, if he fails to appear, may issue a warrant
for his arrest. |
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6. (1)
The Secretary of State may make rules for regulating the carrying out of the requirements
of supervised attendance orders. |
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(2)
Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, rules under this section may
- |
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(a)
limit the number of hours during which the requirements of an order are to be met on any
one day. |
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(b)
make provision as to the reckoning of time for the purposes of the carrying out of these
requirements; |
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(c)
make provision for the payment of travelling and other expenses in connection with the
carrying out of these requirements; |
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(d)
provide for records to be kept of what has been done by any person carrying out these
requirements. |
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(3)
Rules under this paragraph shall be made statutory instrument subject to annulment in
pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament. |
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7. The
Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament each year, or incorporate in annual reports
he already makes, a report of the operation of section 62 of this Act and this Schedule.
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8. In
section 27 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (supervision of persons put on
probation, released from prison or subject to community service orders) - |
1968
c.49 |
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(a) in
subsection (1)(b) there shall be inserted at the end the following"; and
(iv) without prejudice to paragraphs (i) to (iii) above,
persons in their area who are subject to supervised attendance orders under section 62 of
the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990"; |
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(b)
for the words "probation and community service scheme", wherever they occur,
there shall be substituted the words "probation, community service and supervised
attendance scheme". |
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9. (1)
In this Schedule -
"the appropriate court", in relation to a
supervised attendance order, means the court having jurisdiction in the locality for the
time being specified in the order under paragraph 2(1)(a) above, being a sheriff or
district court according to whether the order has been made by a sheriff or a district
court, but in a case where the order has been made by a district court and there is no
district court in that locality, the sheriff court; |
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"local
authority" and "supervising officer" have the same meanings respectively as
in section 62 of this Act. |
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(2)
Except where the context otherwise requires, expressions used in this Schedule and in the
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 have the same meanings in this Schedule as in that
Act. |
1975
c. 21 |
EXTRACT FROM
LAW REFORM (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS)
(SCOTLAND) ACT 1990
SCHEDULE 8: SECTION 28
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The
Community Service by Offenders (Scotland) Act 1978 (c.49) |
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28. In
section 4 of the Community Service by Offenders (Scotland) Act 1978 (which, amongst other
things, gives the court powers to deal with failure to comply with community service
orders) there shall be added at the end the following subsection - |
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"(3)
The evidence of one witness shall, for the purposes of subsection (2) above, be sufficient
evidence". |
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