Letter from the Scottish Prison Service to the Convener, Criminal Justice Committee, 20 July 2021
Dear Audrey
May I firstly congratulate you on your new role as Convener of the Criminal Justice Committee. Thank you also for your correspondence dated 24 June 2021 detailing the Committee’s request for further information in relation to the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), the welfare of prison officers and prisoners and their protection.
There is no doubt that responding to Covid-19 has placed significant demands on our organisation and will do so for many months to come.
SPS has been, and will continue to, respond to the latest Scottish Government (SG) and Public Health advice in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures taken by SPS to restrict the regime at different times throughout the period of the pandemic have been considered necessary, proportionate and aligned to Public Health advice in order to support the safe operation of prisons and to protect the health and wellbeing of those who live and work in them. With recent SG announcements regarding national restrictions being eased across Scotland, SPS is now cautiously planning the next phase of our pandemic response and is now beginning to establish a structure to plan for the phased resumption of services into establishments.
Given the uncertainty that remains around the need for further local lockdowns as well as the potential for further waves of the pandemic during Autumn/Winter 2021/2022, SPS is considering taking forward further amendments to the Prison Rules to retain some limited flexibility afforded by The Prisoner and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Amendment Rules 2020 (SSI 2020/122), extended and slightly amended by The Prisoner and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Rules 2020 (SSI 2020/264) and The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions(Coronavirus) (Scotland) Amendment Rules 2021 (SSI 2021/80). We will shortly be launching a consultation on The Prison and Young Offenders Institutions (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Rules 2021 and inviting the views of a range of stakeholders.
When moving into this recovery period, precautionary measures will still need to remain in place, such as social distancing and hygiene measures, to help prevent the spread of the virus and minimise the risk of outbreaks occurring. Based on this approach, it may be the case that SPS’ recovery will move at a different pace from wider society however all restrictions in place will be subject to regular and ongoing review. As part of this process SPS will continue to consider SG guidance and the route map, where it is applicable to the prison setting, as we look to reintroduce regimes across establishments.
Throughout the pandemic, there has been regular engagement with those in our care to ensure their voice is heard and that we keep them up to date with what is going on, and why. Recognising the potential impact that these restrictions may have on the physical and mental wellbeing of those in custody, we have worked with our partners to ensure support, in a variety of forms, is available.
As you may be aware the former Cabinet Secretary for Justice commissioned a ‘Clinical Advisory Group for Prisons’ (CPAG) which was introduced in November 2020. The CPAG currently meets every fortnight and has multi-disciplinary membership, including SPS, SG and NHS representation. The purpose of this Group is provide SPS and Scottish Ministers with clinical expertise and guidance for prisons settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also ensures that there is an enhanced system of national assurance around the safety and wellbeing of those that live and work in prisons.
As you will know, independent and robust scrutiny and monitoring of conditions and treatment in our prisons has also been maintained by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland during the pandemic through a remote monitoring framework and on-site liaison visits (when National restrictions have allowed).
For anyone working through this period, having to manage the challenges of changing working environments and conditions as well as dealing with the impact of the restrictions on our personal lives, has not been easy. That is why the safety and wellbeing of colleagues continues to be a priority. Recognising SPS staff as key workers allowed access to symptomatic testing early on in the pandemic, and the roll out of asymptomatic testing, now offers all SPS staff the opportunity to participate in the weekly testing programme. Enhanced engagement and communication at local and national levels has really helped, in addition to specialist support offered through our employee assistance programme.
The order in which individuals in SPS’ care have been offered the vaccine has been in line with the JCVI prioritisation list with individual NHS Health Boards being responsible for developing their local vaccine implementation plans. Our experience to date suggests that the rate of vaccinations in prisons in Scotland varies across Health Boards due to a number of challenges and complexities in delivering this in a prison setting. We are continuing to monitor the rate at which vaccinations are being administered in prisons as this will have a direct impact on the relaxing of COVID measures moving forward.
The committee may wish to note that the nature of our population and function means that as our population changes, via admissions and liberations for example, we are unable to achieve a stable position on full vaccination. Our work with NHS is therefore key in the identification of need and provision of vaccinations to those individuals in our care which is especially of note given they are often individuals who present as the ‘hardest to reach’ within society.
In addressing this, we have worked with Public Health Scotland colleagues to tailor COVID communications for a prison setting with leaflets, posters and advice distributed to everyone in custody. Professor Jason Leitch was also interviewed by an individual in custody for a prison radio station, with the questions being submitted by those in our care. The interview has since been aired on other prison radio stations across Scotland and has been very popular with both staff and individuals in custody.
In line with the JCVI prioritisation list, SPS staff have been offered the COVID-19 vaccination in the same priority order as the wider Scottish public. SPS does not collate staff data in this area due to the confidential nature of medical information. That being said however, SPS has introduced a number of initiatives to support and encourage staff to accept a COVID-19 vaccination when offered. These include;
We have worked closely with the Scottish Government, Health Protection Scotland and a range of other partners to manage this challenge. Centrally SPS has set up a National Coronavirus Response Group (NCRG) to support staff and establishments with their local planning. The NCRG is working with senior SPS staff, Scottish Government and NHS colleagues on a daily basis to ensure SPS has the most up-to-date information available to inform our response and contingency planning. Each establishment has also implemented a Local Coronavirus Response Group (LCRG) to work alongside the NCRG.
SPS continually manages people in our prisons who have a variety of health related issues and has well-developed practices and procedures in place to manage outbreaks of COVID if cases are identified. Following Public Health Scotland advice, SPS purchased Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff dealing directly with individuals who have, or are suspected of having Covid 19. The PPE is for staff safety and for the safety of the people who live in our prisons. All staff must wear the appropriate PPE when dealing directly within those with a confirmed diagnosis of Covid 19 and familiarise themselves with the appropriate method for applying and removing the equipment. As SPS looks to take forward its recovery, we will continue to comply and promote all mandatory national prevention measures and consider where local risk assessments will be required to be completed to ensure the continued safety of staff and those in who live in our prisons.
Finally, I note in your correspondence that the Committee expects to hold a number of evidence sessions in early September one of which will be an update on Coronavirus impacts across the justice sector. I would, of course, be happy to participate in one of these discussions to provide the Committee with a fuller detailed brief on SPS’ journey to date dealing with the COVID pandemic.
I hope that the information provided has been helpful and if there is anything further I can supply please do let me know.
Yours sincerely
Teresa Medhurst
Interim Chief Executive