Explanatory note

Where a restitution order is imposed on an individual under section 253A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”), all monies received by the court in payment of the order are to be paid to the Scottish Ministers under section 253B(1). The Scottish Ministers are then obliged under section 253B(2) to pay all monies so received into a fund to be known as the Restitution Fund (“the Fund”). The Restitution Fund (Scotland) Order 2021 (“the 2021 Order”) provided for the delegation of the establishment, maintenance and administration of the Fund to the Scottish Police Benevolent Fund.

Articles 2 and 3 of this Order make general provision about the administration of the Fund by the Scottish Ministers. Under Article 3, the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the need to promote equality and diversity and prevent discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the administration of the Fund.

Article 4 makes provision for the payment of monies from the Fund. Payments can commence from 1 April 2026 onwards. Payments can only be made following the receipt of a written or electronic application from the prospective recipient of the payment and the approval of that application by the Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Ministers may reject an application if they consider that there are insufficient monies in the Fund although this is without prejudice to the Scottish Ministers’ general discretion to determine applications. Payments from the Fund may be made subject to conditions but there are two mandatory conditions which must be attached to every such payment from the Fund: (1) that the payment must be used for a specified purpose; and (2) the payment must be repaid on demand if any condition is not complied with.

Article 5 provides details of the matters which must be recorded by the Scottish Ministers and for how long those records must be kept.

Article 6 places an obligation on the Scottish Ministers to prepare and publish an annual report on the administration of the Fund. Each report must include the information recorded by the Scottish Ministers under article 5. The first report covers the period from the date of the coming into force of the Order and ending on 31 March 2026 and subsequent reports cover the 12 months up to and including 31 March each year.

Article 7 of this Order revokes the 2021 Order subject to saving provision.