Chamber and committees

Thank you.

One of the issues that has come up in each of the evidence sessions that we have had is the threat of human rights litigation. You have just given us the latest figure for the prison population, which is, once again, an increase on the previous figure. When we heard from the Auditor General and Michael Oliphant from Audit Scotland on 1 February, they said that overcrowding was, in the words of the Auditor General, a “live risk” of litigation, and Michael Oliphant said that it was a “big risk”. How would you characterise it?

Good morning. I welcome everyone to the 14th meeting in 2024 of the Public Audit Committee. The first item on our agenda is to ask whether the committee agrees to take agenda items 3, 4 and 5 in private. Are we agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you very much, indeed. I turn to the director general.

Can you both confirm that I can take from your opening remarks that you accept the findings that are set out in the Auditor General’s report?

Right. Graham Simpson has some questions to put.

Could I pick up on that letter to the committee from Steve Farrell of Community? I would be interested in your response to one of the things that he says, which is, if I can paraphrase, that the prison service has been poaching GEOAmey staff and it is therefore “perverse” for the SPS to call GEOAmey to account for having too low staff numbers and so on. He says that the SPS monopolises the monitoring of the private estate. Do you have a response to that, Teresa?

Steve Farrell thinks that there should be an independent monitor of such commercial contracts. Do you have a response to that?

Okay. Thank you very much. There is just one final question from me, which takes us back to the Scottish court custody and prison escorting service. Is a public sector model part of your consideration?

Okay. When did the Scottish Government first see drafts of those reports?

But it was shared with ministers last year.