Association of Prison Visiting Committees

The motion

That the Parliament recognises the invaluable work of Scotland’s prison visiting committees and endorses the Association of Visiting Committees for Penal Establishments’ comments in its annual report to 31 March 2001 and on the professionalism and commitment of the majority of the uniformed and civilian staff in the prisons during what the Association terms “a very difficult year”; notes the points of concern raised by the Association, in particular (a) the frequent failure of the Minister for Justice to take account of the correspondence and views of many prison visiting committees, (b) the lack of appropriate work in prisons for rehabilitation, (c) the failure throughout the system to recognise the rights of prisoners under the European Convention on Human Rights such as an end to slopping out and the practice of prisoners eating in their cells where there is in cell sanitation, (d) the severe repercussions on the welfare of staff and prisoners of the delay in the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Estates Review and a concern that the Minister for Justice should consult widely on any recommendations which the SPS may make, (e) concern over the conditions in which vulnerable prisoners are kept, (f) the delay in implementing promises to provide special training for officers who work with women and young offenders, (g) that the independence of visiting committees is compromised because prison governors allocate and control their resources and , (h) that the appointment procedure to the visiting committee at young offender institutions is flawed and requires a radical overhaul and urges the Scottish Executive to respond to these concerns, among others, without delay.

No recorded vote on this motion. Most motions are never debated, and many that are debated are agreed without a division. Vote records are published from 2011.

SNP 12 Green 1

Party shown is each supporter’s party when the motion was published.

No contribution in the Official Report cites S1M-02269 by reference.