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All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
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Displaying 2095 contributions
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
In essence, there is no other—
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
You mentioned that the regime at Greenock is really well thought of among the staff and the prisoners. Do they try to share that practice with the rest of the prisons?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
I also get that impression when I visit Kilmarnock prison. There are 500 or so prisoners there, but I get the sense from working closely with the director and the staff that there is a good regime. The prison is well managed and there are good relationships.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
Convener, did we agree that you would ask about the demographics? I could do that, if you want.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
Thanks so much for your responses to those questions.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
Thank you for answering that question. I had not intended to ask it, but we were led in that direction from the earlier conversation, and it is quite important.
Let us turn to Barlinnie, which the 2018-19 audit identified as presenting the
“biggest risk of failure in the prison system”.
In the inspection report that we are discussing today, you talk about “surge capacity” and so on. For the benefit of committee members and, perhaps, the public, will you briefly explain what we mean by surge capacity and why Barlinnie is in the frame when we talk about that?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
Yes, I know it well. I am very familiar with it.
There is really no option; if we have such a situation, it has to be Barlinnie that takes on the extra demand, because of its size and design, presumably. It has the space, but it is perhaps in the poorest condition of all our prisons.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
In 2020, the Government told our predecessor committee that the Prison Service has
“robust contingency plans in place”
to deal with
“a loss of critical infrastructure or ... an incident”.
Are those robust contingency plans still in place and, if so, are they fit for purpose?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
In 2019, you told our predecessor committee—it was probably in answer to a question from me—that it would take five or six years before Barlinnie would be replaced, but we are still not there.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 14 March 2024
Willie Coffey
When a person gets sentenced to be imprisoned, does the system look at that person’s needs initially before it is decided where they should go, if they have particular health requirements and so on?