Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Amendment Rules 2022 (SSI 2022/73)
Welcome back, everyone. The next agenda item is consideration of the Prison and Young Offenders Institutions (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Amendment Rules 2022. I refer members to paper 5. The committee has previously taken evidence on the instrument, which is subject to the negative procedure, so I invite any further views that members might have on it.
My only point is the obvious one, which is that I am concerned that the instrument is subject to the negative procedure. The issue was raised previously. The only way to deal with instruments under that procedure is to annul them in the chamber rather than to agree to them proactively as a committee, as is the case with the affirmative procedure. I want to feed back to the Government that, in the future, such sweeping regulations, on which we have taken a bit of evidence—not all positive—should be dealt with via other forms of legislation or the affirmative procedure. That should be the case at the end of this extension period.
It is worth noting that many members, and the people to whom we spoke during evidence sessions, raised a number of valid concerns about some of the provisions. Although we understand the reason for the extension to September 2022—all of us are willing to give the Government the benefit of the doubt on this occasion, given the circumstances that we are in—we do so with those reservations, specifically around the elongation of the timescale and the very restrictive nature of the regulations.
We, as a party, are happy to support the regulations, but we do so reluctantly, and we are reluctant about the method by which we are asked to do it.
[Inaudible.]—observation that is based on the papers that were submitted in relation to the restrictions that have been put in place. Teresa Medhurst provided a table, which is found in the annex to paper 5, showing how different establishments used those restrictions between October 2021 and February 2022. I welcome the table and its breakdown by establishment of the restrictions that have been put in place. However, I am fully aware of the fact that the restrictions have been in place for much longer, to varying degrees, in each establishment. I want to put on record my concern for the mental health of some of the prisoners, given that those restrictions have been in place for much longer than that timescale.
While we are online, I invite Rona Mackay and Fulton MacGregor to indicate whether they would like to make any comments.
Katy, do you want to say anything?
I associate myself with the procedure points that have been made. In relation to the substantive issues, we took evidence on political oversight from the cabinet secretary, and it is important that we put on record that we expect a high level of oversight both by ministers and by the Scottish Prison Service. Obviously, the instrument has given, and is giving, governors significant powers, and it is important that those powers are used with consistency and that they are proportionate and necessary. It would be helpful if the committee could put on record the importance of political oversight—particularly the role of politicians in ensuring that the decisions that they make are consistent and proportionate. I include the committee in that. Picking up on the point that Collette Stevenson made, I suggest that the committee should be kept regularly advised of the decisions that are taken so that we, too, are able to give that political oversight.
I appreciate members’ comments on the matter. I, too, put on record, on behalf of the committee, that although we agree to make no recommendation on the Scottish statutory instrument, we do not want the powers to remain in place indefinitely and we expect to be kept updated on how they are used and implemented.
That concludes the public part of the meeting. We will now move into private session to review the evidence that we have heard this morning.
11:45 Meeting continued in private until 12:58.