Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 30
30
Deferred
Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice for the Scottish Government, stated that “[t]he issue...
Recommendation
Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice for the Scottish Government, stated that “[t]he issue of [ … ..] shopping for referees is an important one”.98 To combat this issue, the Cabinet Secretary suggested that “one way you could go is a statutory duty to report if somebody asked you for a reference that you didn’t want to give”.99 However, the Cabinet Secretary warned against a Canadian-style system of firearms licensing, in which conjugal partners are required to countersign licence applications, stating that “[a] partner who has been subject to domestic abuse, for example, could be intimidated into providing a good reference, to allow somebody to get a licence”.100
Government Response Summary
The government is seeking views in a consultation paper regarding interviewing partners and household members of those certificate holders or applicants with a record of violence and will look again at making the advice on domestic abuse clearer.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
You will see that we are seeking views in the accompanying consultation paper on the recommendations made in respect of interviewing partners and household members of those certificate holders or applicants with a record of violence or subject to allegations of violence. The Government will also look again at making the advice on domestic abuse clearer and emphasise the need to interview partners, relatives, and possibly former partners, if there are allegations of domestic abuse against the certificate holder/applicant. The intention is to publish a further version of the Statutory Guidance by the end of 2023.