Chamber and committees

I would like to explore double-cell occupancy and its consequences.

In March 2023, 31.5 per cent of prisoners occupied double cells across the prison estate. In the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee’s 2020 report, in session 5, entitled “The 2018/19 audit of the Scottish Prison Service”, that committee described the solution of addressing capacity issues by doubling up prisoners as

“a step backwards rather than forwards.”

In response to that report by our predecessor committee, the Scottish Government said that the doubling-up of prisoners in cells was not its “preferred approach”. It further stated that the SPS was

“actively working to provide single cell accommodation”

to all prisoners.

Do you know whether there has been a significant increase in the use of double cells? Has the SPS improved the situation?

The previous reports that we have looked at have said that 31.5 per cent of prisoners were in double cells. Is the figure still about the same?

It is simply the sheer volume of prisoners that is driving that.

Is there an alternative?

Particular reference has been made in the past to Barlinnie, as well as to the wider prison estate, of course. However, the difficulty there is that, in the words of the chief inspector of prisons, a restricted regime is in place to keep prisoners “safe and controlled”. Just a few minutes ago, you talked about prisoners being in their cells for 23 hours a day. How is that possible? In prisons in rather more brutal regimes, prisoners are in their cells for 23 hours a day, but we are doing the same here.

There are lots of groups in place to support the delivery of NSET, but there seems to be a strong possibility of duplication of effort, fragmentation and lack of clarity of purpose. Were those risks part of your work? Did they inform the briefing? Did you observe them to be the case in practice?

You have addressed a chunk of my last question, which is about transparency on decisions on funding for NSET. You have covered a number of areas in which there is a need for transparency. Would you like to expand on that? How best can such transparency be achieved?

On a practical basis, if prisoners are in their cells for 23 hours a day, does that mean that their food is served there, too? Do they not get out to mix with other prisoners?

I had assumed that the one hour was for exercise or whatever.