The draft Public Services Reform (Prison Visiting Committees) Order 2014 (“the draft Order”) was laid in the Scottish Parliament on 4 October 2013.
The Justice Committee will be considering the draft Order and will participate in the consultation stage. The Committee would very much like to hear the views of experts and stakeholders on the proposed reforms to inform Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft Order.
The Scottish Government is also consulting directly on the draft Order and its consultation is available on the Scottish Government’s website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/10/9986
Content
The draft Order will abolish Prison Visiting Committees and creates the roles of prison monitors and lay monitors. Both prison monitors and lay monitors will be appointed by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons Scotland (“the Chief Inspector”).
The draft Order makes changes to the Chief Inspector’s statutory role. These changes include bringing the monitoring of prisons under his or her oversight, while retaining the Chief Inspector’s inspection functions.
Prison monitors will monitor and report on prison conditions and the treatment of prisoners within the prison. They will visit the prison or prisons to which they are assigned at least once a month. Without prior notice, prison monitors will have access to any part of those prisons and be able to speak to any prisoner, prison staff or prison visitor and examine records. Prison monitors will report to the Chief Inspector who may also pay them a salary and allowances.
Lay monitors will assist prison monitors in their role.
Call for evidence
The Committee would like to hear the views of stakeholders on:
• whether or not the proposed changes are a positive step;
• whether or not the proposed structure of monitoring becoming part of the Chief Inspector’s functions is to be welcomed;
• whether or not the roles of the prison monitors and lay monitors are required and if so whether the roles are appropriately drawn; and
• any other comments you may have on the draft order.
The deadline for submissions is 5.00pm on Friday 8 November 2013.
Procedure
The draft Order has been laid under the super-affirmative procedure. This allows the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise a draft of the order and suggest amendments to it. After this consultation stage, the Scottish Government will then be able to lay a finalised order before Parliament. Once this happens, the order cannot be amended and Parliament will then decide whether to approve it.
How to submit your evidence
Written submissions should be in MS Word or similar word processing format, and should be no longer than 4 sides of A4. If your submission is longer than this, please provide a short summary of the main points. Submissions should be set out in numbered paragraphs. If a submission refers to existing published material, it is preferable to provide hyperlinks rather than extensive extracts.
Before making a submission, please read the Parliament’s policy on treatment of written evidence by subject and mandatory committees.
If possible, written submissions should be submitted electronically by email to: [email protected]
Hard copy written submissions should be sent to:
Justice Committee Clerks
Room T2.60
Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
Contact
Any queries about written submissions should be addressed in the first instance to the Justice Committee clerking team at the above email address or on 0131 348 5047.