- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 12 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Annual Report of the Cornton Vale (Under 21) Visiting Committee, what initiatives have been taken to provide a specialist regime for young women offenders.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Skye House is due to open as a dedicated Young Offender Unit in November 2001.The facility will feature:A designated manager with specific responsibilities for young women offenders.A staff group specially selected and trained to work with young women offenders.An induction and assessment process aimed specifically at young women offenders.A regime aligned to meet identified needs.Increased access to educational opportunities.Support to assist in addressing offending behaviour, addictions, family problems and other matters.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 5 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received concerning the first report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales on HM Prison Buckley Hall, Rochdale since it was transferred from the private to the public sector and what lessons it has learned from that report.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:The SPS does not normally receive reports on prisons from other jurisdictions and has not received the report referred to.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 5 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost implications would be of bringing HM Prison Kilmarnock back into the public sector.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Like all contracts, costs of termination depends on many factors, including the reasons for such a decision and the point of time in the contract. Such costs would require detailed calculation by independent advisers, both financial and legal.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 2.3 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 regarding the comments by visiting committees about the level of staff morale and that because of staff absences prisoners were locked up for longer periods.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18792.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 4 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 on the independence of visiting committees; whether it shares the concern of the association that the independence of these committees may be compromised as prison governors allocate and control their financial resources, and, if so, what alternative procedures it plans to put in place.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:A response to this, and the other points made in the association's Annual Report, will be sent to the association shortly. A copy will be sent to the member.Most visiting committee costs relate to the travelling and other expenses of committee members. Most committee members are members of the local authority that appointed them, and their expenses are paid by their authority rather than SPS. The expenses of other members are paid by SPS, either by the relevant establishment or from a central budget. The functions of visiting committees are clearly laid down in section 8 of the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 and in the Prison Rules, which include provision for committee members to visit prisons, hear complaints from prisoners and report any matters of concern to the prison governor and the Scottish ministers. Current funding arrangements allow for these functions to be carried out and committee members are in no way prevented from carrying out their duties by lack of funds. Current financial arrangements do not compromise the independence of visiting committees, and we therefore have no plans to change them.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 2.4 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 that the practice of prisoners eating in cells where there is in-cell sanitation could be successfully challenged under the European Convention on Human Rights and what contingency plans are in place should this occur.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18792.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place for informing the Minister for Justice as to the views of prison visiting committees, whether these procedures require review and, if so, what plans it has to conduct such a review.
Answer
Each visiting committee is required to submit an Annual Report to the Scottish ministers. In addition, a committee may at any time submit a report to the Scottish ministers on any matter which it thinks it expedient so to report. Such reports are usually submitted direct to ministers by the visiting committee concerned. There are no plans to review these arrangements.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 2.2 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 regarding lack of appropriate work for prisoner rehabilitation in prisons and, in particular, about numbers of prisoners sitting in sheds with no work to do, workshops closed because staff were required for escort duty and the type of work undertaken in prisons.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:A response to this and the other points made in the association's Annual Report will be sent to the association shortly. A copy will be sent to the member.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 2.5 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 regarding the Scottish Prison Service's Estates Review consultation process, who the Prison Service will consult with and how long this consultation process will last.
Answer
Completion of the Estates Review process has taken longer than originally anticipated but it is considered essential that the financial costings are independently evaluated. The findings will be published later this year and a period of consultation will follow.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 3 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 on raising awareness and what action it is taking to raise public awareness of the existence and functions of prison visiting committees.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18792.
