Developing a contingency plan for HMP Barlinnie in the event that it fails must be of the highest priority for the Scottish Prison Service, says Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee.
Given the condition of Scotland’s prisons in general, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) must also develop robust contingency plans in case any other part of the prison estate becomes uninhabitable.
All contingency plans should reflect the immediate capacity issues faced by the SPS and the fact that there is no evidence to suggest that prisoner numbers will decrease in the short term.
In a report published today, the committee says ten years of capital underspend to stay within budget should have raised serious concerns at an early stage given the deteriorating state of prisons. The impact of the delay in the capital programme cannot be overestimated.
Urgent action by the Scottish Government and SPS is needed to address under-lying pressures on the prison service, with solutions required from across the justice system.
The report says this situation is now undermining the Scottish Government’s policy objectives of rehabilitating prisoners and reducing re-offending.
Jenny Marra MSP, Convener of the Public Audit Committee, said: “Audit Scotland says HMP Barlinnie presents the “biggest risk of failure in the prison system” but warns there is no clear contingency plan for accommodating the 1,460 prisoners it currently holds should it fail.
“Developing a contingency plan for Barlinnie in the event that it fails must be of the highest priority. Given the state of prisons generally, the Scottish Government and the SPS must develop robust contingency plans should any other part of the prison estate become uninhabitable.
On underlying pressure on the prison service, Ms Marra added: “It is clear to the Committee that there are significant and wide-ranging challenges both the SPS and Scottish Government must overcome. The SPS is currently accommodating around 500 prisoners above capacity and there is no evidence to suggest that prisoner numbers will decrease in the short term.
“At the same time, the SPS’s revenue budget is down by 12.5 per cent in real terms; the capital programmes for HMPs Barlinnie, Inverness and Greenock are behind schedule and prisoner violence is on the increase. At its core, this situation is undermining the Scottish Government’s policy objectives of rehabilitating prisoners and reducing re-offending.”
The report finds that either the numbers entering prisons needs to be reduced or additional capacity provided to ensure that prisons are a safe and adequate environment for those who live and work in them.
As such, the service should be funded for the population it currently holds and for the expected increase rather than it being assumed that prisoner numbers will fall. Suggestions of doubling up prisoners in individual cells are a backwards step, says the committee.
The report states that action needs to be taken now by both the SPS and the Scottish Government to address these significant pressures. Such action must be based on a whole-system approach, requiring solutions from across the justice system.
On HMP Barlinnie, the report says: ‘Given the history of the prison service capital programme to date, it would seem that further delays in the completion of HMP Barlinnie are likely. It is crucial that the SPS and the Scottish Government anticipate and plan for such delays and put in place robust contingency plans.
‘The Scottish Government and the SPS must take all steps to ensure that the proposed timetable for the completion of a replacement for HMP Barlinnie is adhered to because if HMP Barlinnie fails, the whole prison system is at risk’.
Read the Committee’s report here.
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