The Public Audit Committee looks at reports published by the Auditor General for Scotland to examine whether public money is being spent efficiently and effectively.
On 12 December 2023, the Auditor General for Scotland published the 2022/23 audit of the Scottish Prison Service.
The report says:
"His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons in Scotland (HMIPS) highlighted in her 2022/23 annual report that 'the ageing infrastructure and general condition of some of Scotland’s prison buildings are ill-suited to a modern prison system’. This includes HMP Barlinnie, HMP Castle Huntly, HMP Dumfries, HMP Greenock, HMP Inverness and HMP Perth. Combined these prisons provide accommodation for approximately 35 per cent of Scotland’s current prison population. As at March 2023, around a third of prisoners were in cells of double occupancy, many of them in HMP Barlinnie which is relied upon to accommodate significant rises in population".
The report was discussed at the following Committee meetings:
The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during its scrutiny of the report:
Correspondence from the Convener to Neil Rennick, Director-General Education and Justice, Scottish Government, 23 September 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Audrey Nicholl MSP, Convener of Criminal Justice Committee, 23 September 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 12 September 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Neil Rennick, Director-General Education and Justice, Scottish Government, 20 August 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive, Scottish Prison Service, 20 May 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Steve Farrell, Regional Secretary for Scotland and Northern Ireland, Community Union, 24 April 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from John Cairney, Chair, Prison Officers' Association Scotland, 18 April 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from David Jones, Managing Director, GEOAmey Limited, 10 April 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, 3 April 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Steve Farrell, Scottish Regional Secretary, Community Trade Union, 3 April 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to John Cairney, Chair, Prison Officers' Association Scotland, 3 April 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Cat Boyd, National Officer for Scotland, Public and Commercial Services Union, 3 April 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Jennifer Harrower, Deputy Crown Agent, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, 22 March 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from David Jones, Managing Director GEOAmey, 20 March 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Jo Farrell, Chief Constable Police Scotland, 13 March 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Caroline Lamb, Chief Executive of NHS Scotland and Director-General for Health and Social Care, Scottish Government, 6 March 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Eric McQueen, Chief Executive, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, 1 March 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 23 February 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Caroline Lamb, Chief Executive of NHS Scotland and Director-General for Health and Social Care, Scottish Government, 9 February 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Eric McQueen, Chief Executive, Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service, 9 February 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to John Logue, Crown Agent, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, 9 February 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Jo Farrell, Chief Constable, Police Scotland, 9 February 2024
Correspondence from the National Officer for Scotland, Public and Commercial Services Union to Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Scottish Government, 14 December 2023