The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee will conclude its work this Parliament in March 2026 ahead of the next Scottish Parliament election. So the Committee has time to complete its work, it has agreed not to consider petitions submitted after 10 October.
The Committee will continue to meet but given the volume of petitions and agreed work programme it is unlikely that the Committee would be able to meaningfully progress work on petitions submitted after 10 October ahead of the election. Petitions lodged after this date will not fall when the Parliament is dissolved and will be for the successor committee to consider in the new session.
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Under consideration PE2073: Ensure accurate information is used when issuing court summons
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to require the police and court services to check address information is up to date when issuing court summons and allow those being summoned the chance to receive a summons if their address has changed, rather than the current system of proceeding to issue a warrant for arrest.
Previous action taken
I have emailed Sharon Dowey MSP, Martin Whitfield MSP, Brian Whittle MSP, Colin Smyth MSP and Emma Harper MSP.
Background information
On Saturday 4th November 2023, Police Scotland attempted to arrest a paramedic at home due to missing a court date. The summons had been sent to a previous address and thus the paramedic had no knowledge of it. On the evening of the 6th of November, the individual was arrested and spent the night in the cells. The summons was for a court date in 2018.
This happened over Guy Fawkes weekend. This situation did not help the public, potentially putting the public at risk of harm by reducing medical cover on a weekend whereby significant burns and trauma are highly likely.
Police Scotland got the address for the warrant without difficulty; thus, one could argue they could have as easily gotten the address and delivered the summons. This would have saved significant time for police, public money, cell space, and court time.
8 signatures
This petition is now under consideration
Click here for further information about the consideration of this petition.