To ask the Scottish Executive when it will act on the recommendation of its Working Group on Hate Crime to introduce a statutory aggravation for crimes motivated by malice or ill-will towards an individual based on their sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.

We deplore all crime, especially that motivated by prejudice of any kind, and are aware of the strength of feeling over this issue

We gave careful consideration to the working group’s recommendation on the introduction of a new statutory aggravation and concluded that the creation of a further statutory offence would work against our wider objective of improving consistency in sentencing. It is our view that the best way forward is to explore the options further in the context of our consideration of the Sentencing Commission’s report on the Scope to Improve Consistency in Sentencing, published on 19 September.

Cathy Jamieson met representatives from the Equality Network on 25 October when there was a useful discussion about a statutory aggravation. They agreed to meet again early in the New Year.