Criminal Justice Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Official Report 681KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Prescribed Police Stations) (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/282)

Item 4 is consideration of two Scottish statutory instruments under the negative procedure. I refer members to paper 6.

If members have no comments on the regulations, are we content not to make any comments formally to Parliament on it?

Members indicated agreement.

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Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Rules 2021 (SSI 2021/289)

Do members have any questions or comments on this instrument?

I would like to get more information from the cabinet secretary and whoever else is involved on the role of Her Majesty’s chief inspector of prisons with regard to some of the human rights issues and the length of the extension of the powers as set out in the instrument.

I echo Ms Stevenson’s comments and would welcome more information on this. What seems like a minor negative instrument extends for a significant period of time certain powers that governors in our prisons and young offenders institutions have, such as the ability to confine prisoners to their cells for prolonged periods of time, to restrict activity, to suspend prison visits and to curtail work, educational activities, counselling and purposeful activities for another six months.

I appreciate that this might be linked to the extension of other Covid regulations that were debated in the chamber more widely as part of other legislation. However, I note that paragraph 9 of the policy note says:

“SPS intends to publish the consultation, the responses received”—

which, I should add, were not all positive—

“and its response to the consultation responses on its website in October”.

However, the powers run out at the end of September, and we are being asked to approve their extension prior to the publication of the consultation and the SPS’s response. I find that wholly unacceptable. I therefore expect the Minister for Community Safety or whoever is presenting the SSI to give us more information on the concerns that have been raised in the consultation process so that members can take a view on the suitability of extending the powers as the SPS or the Government is asking for.

I will bring in Ms Barr to outline the next steps.

The committee can look at this negative SSI again next week, which will allow us in the meantime to write to the Scottish Prison Service, the cabinet secretary and the inspectorate with members’ concerns. Hopefully, you will be able to look at the responses next week.

As Ms Stevenson and Mr Greene have raised some questions to which it would be valuable to get some answers, I propose to hold off asking the committee to agree the instrument until next week. Are members content with that?

Members indicated agreement.

We now move into private session.

13:01 Meeting continued in private until 13:05.