Chamber and committees

The Strategic Framework update published on 23 February outlines the government’s strategic approach to managing the pandemic. Within the protection levels system, including the Stay at Home instruction, courts and tribunals are able to open and operate within public health guidelines. There are exemptions built into the levels to allow people to attend court. The protection levels are regularly reviewed to ensure any restrictions are appropriate and proportionate. SCTS have recently announced plans to restart Sheriff Court summary trials from 19 April and for Justice of the Peace business to resume from 7 June, therefore easing court restrictions that have been in place since January which have reduced the number of trials taking place by around 75%.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

As the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 Strategic Framework evolves, the SPS Route Map will be updated to reflect any changes that are announced. This internal Route Map will subsequently influence how prison regimes are facilitated in SPS establishments going forward.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The SPS takes all instances of self-harm and threats to suicide very seriously and robust processes are in place to ensure those at risk are identified and supported effectively.

SPS records threats of, as well as actual incidences of, self-harm and the table below shows the number of attempted suicides, or threats of attempted suicide, in each of the past three financial years across the prison estate.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table details the number of compassionate visits that have taken place in each SPS establishment since 26 December 2020 until 12 March 2021.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table details how many compassionate visits have not been approved in each SPS establishment since 26 December 2020 until 12 March 2021.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS is only able to confirm the cause of death once a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) has concluded, however, all deaths in custody are published on our website and updated on a quarterly basis. This information includes the ‘medical certificate of cause of death’(MCCD) to avoid any delay in waiting until the cause of death is confirmed at a FAI. This information can be found at https://www.sps.gov.uk/Corporate/Information/PrisonerDeaths.aspx

Please note that information on deaths in custody which took place during the first 3 months of 2021 will be available in early April 2021.

In 2020 there were 5 deaths in custody as a result of COVID-19. There have been 3 deaths in 2021 that have been initially reported as associated with COVID-19, however SPS await final confirmation of this by MCCD or Post Mortem.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The safety and wellbeing of all those living and working in SPS establishments remains our priority and, as such, individual establishments may put measures in place to restrict prison visits in line with public health advice.

At the moment, in-person visits can take place in SPS establishments, particularly where there are compassionate grounds. Each in-person visit request is assessed on an individual basis, and local risk assessments are applied prior to a decision being reached by an establishment as to whether the in-person visit request will be approved.

Following the SG announcement by the First Minister on 16 March 2020 detailing the easing of some restrictions, we are reviewing the arrangements for in-person visits with a view to enabling greater access. All updates on changes to accessing in-person visits will be published on the SPS website in due course.

Maintaining contact with loved ones is important for prisoners and their families which is why the Scottish Prison Service moved quickly to set up virtual visiting arrangements when it became necessary, in line with Covid-19 restrictions, to suspend in-person visiting. There is a range of support in place to help families with virtual visits including detailed multi-lingual guidance for families on the Scottish Prison Service website at http://www.sps.gov.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.aspx?lID=4628&sID=1581 and a short video outlining the booking process can be accessed via SPS' YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0SFZZoGbmM .

In 2020-21 the Scottish Government provided grant funding of £138,993 and £700,000 respectively towards the running costs for Families Outside and Prison Visitor Centres enabling them to continue the important work that they do to support families affected by imprisonment. In addition to information contained on the Scottish Prison Service website and given to prisoners, Families Outside and Prison Visitor Centres helped to inform families of the roll out of the virtual visit arrangements. They have also provided families with ad hoc guidance on the steps that they need to take to access the virtual visit platform and with practical support that has included accessing devices for eligible families through the Connecting Scotland programme.

Earlier this month the Scottish Government provided grant funding of £26,255 from the Winter Support package specifically to help families affected by imprisonment access virtual visits with a proportion of this money being directed towards equipment for Regional Support Co-ordinators at Families Outside and Prison Visitors so that they have the tools needed to support families now and in the future. An element of this grant has been allocated to Families Outside to enable them to support a Scottish Prison Service project that is examining the barriers to families engaging in virtual visits and to give direct support, including with devices, to families that are identified through this project. The aims of the SPS Project are to identify the barriers impacting on individuals accessing or utilising virtual visits and to identify areas of good practice so that these could be reflected in a future tender for virtual visit provision.

The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery which advises that an age-based approach continues to be the best way to protect those most at risk.

Prevention of mortality is the key aim of the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine programme. Prison officers at a higher individual risk of mortality will be targeted for vaccination in the first phase of the programme in line with age and other priority categories.

We anticipate reaching everyone on the first phase of the JCVI priority list by mid-April, subject to supply.

The SPCB commissions an independent audit of the cyber security measures in place to protect the Parliament's technology and information assets.  The audit measures our performance against the Cyber Essentials information assurance scheme operated by the National Cyber Security Centre.  Audits are undertaken annually with the most recent resulting in retention of certification at Cyber Essentials Plus level. 

Achieving certification provides the SPCB with a validation of the cyber security procedures and processes we have in place to protect the Parliament from cyber-attack, and aligns our efforts to the Scottish Governments Public Sector Action plan on Cyber Resilience.