That the Parliament supports the charity, Families Outside, which launches its No Easy Journey Travel Campaign on 27 January 2025; notes that this campaign aims to raise awareness of the continuing challenges that families can face when trying to maintain meaningful contact with a loved one in prison; recognises that connections between children and families can support the health and wellbeing of all; understands that keeping contact often comes at a significant cost to families, with the financial costs of visiting leaving some unable to make the journey and others accumulating debt, resulting at times, it believes, in poverty, isolation and decline to their physical and mental health; believes that this burden is overwhelmingly borne by single women on low incomes, with single parents hit especially hard financially; notes the view that timings of prison visits are often not co-ordinated to consider travel options; understands that, according to the charity, the financial support for families from the Help with Prison Visits scheme can be difficult to access and that the scheme has limitations in meeting the needs of everyone, especially people living in more rural areas; praises the work of Families Outside, which was established in 1991 and, it understands, is the only charity dedicated to offering emotional and practical support to families affected by imprisonment; believes that intervention by Families Outside reduces stigmatisation; offers heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities that the charity provides through non-judgmental care and support, and notes the view that more must be done to help ensure that families voices are heard, acknowledged and acted upon.
Supported by:
Karen Adam, Clare Adamson, Stephanie Callaghan, Maggie Chapman, Katy Clark, Annabelle Ewing, Ross Greer, Clare Haughey, Bill Kidd, Fulton MacGregor, Ruth Maguire, John Mason, Liam McArthur, Stuart McMillan, Marie McNair, Audrey Nicoll, Paul Sweeney, David Torrance, Evelyn Tweed, Elena Whitham