Chamber and committees

So—

What information was sent out yesterday? Last week, I spoke to a few stakeholders, who did not know what was happening. This week, the committee received a letter from Victim Support Scotland, which said that, as of yesterday, it still did not have the information that would be available in the information-sharing agreement. Why was it only sent out yesterday? That does not give us much time to have a look at it and raise any issues while we have you here today.

Good morning. I will start with a question for Ms Medhurst. Do you feel that the Scottish Prison Service is prepared for the early release of prisoners? When did conversations with the Scottish Government about it start?

On what Rona Mackay said, I totally agree that prison officers do an excellent job and that we need to be concerned for their safety and that of the people in the prisons—we definitely need to look at that. However, this is being presented as an extraordinary measure even though the prospect of emergency release has been present for some time, so it is not really an emergency. There is still a lot more that we need to look at, as I said in my questions. I quoted last week’s witnesses, who said that early release creates a “breathing space” but medium and long-term plans are needed. I would like us, as a committee, to see a lot more on what those medium and long-term plans are, to ensure that we are not back here in another few months, and to get timescales for those plans.

We received another update from Victim Support Scotland, which has also had a lot of concerns. It says in its briefing that, on Tuesday 11 June, no draft of the information sharing agreement was available. I am glad to say that that has now been given out, but prior planning should have meant that Victim Support Scotland and other stakeholders got that a lot earlier. Again, I am speaking to people on the ground who are saying that there was no information available to them. I do not know whether the plans and discussions were happening at a higher level, but the information was not getting down to people on the ground.

We have now heard that there is an actual list of prisoners who could be eligible for early release. Again, however, it might have been prudent to have shared that with some of those organisations so that they could get information together and have more time to prepare for any vetoes. Victim Support Scotland said that it is concerned about the emergency release process and that the governor will have a veto but that it is unclear how informed the process will be. One of the questions that I did not manage to ask in the evidence session earlier today was about the governor’s veto. The veto is to prevent the release of an otherwise eligible prisoner if the governor thinks that they would, if they were released, pose an immediate risk to a specified individual or group of individuals.

Last week, I asked Paula Arnold about the governor’s veto. She said:

“during the last early release, I signed off on only two governor’s vetoes, I think”.

That was that due to concerns outwith criminal justice, such as concerns about housing and so on. She said:

“at that point in time, without the pre-planning that should be in place, the person was not suitable for release so quickly. For example, there might not have been an involvement with third sector or throughcare services, or somewhere for that person to live”.—[Official Report, Criminal Justice Committee, 5 June 2024; c 44.]

I am concerned about whether governors are still allowed to use a veto for those reasons or whether they can use it only if the person would cause an immediate risk to a specified individual or group. Again, it is the reoffending aspect that I am concerned about.

Will Pauline McNeill take an intervention?

On that point, the briefing from Victim Support Scotland says:

“there is an extremely short timescale and there is no mechanism to ensure that every victim is notified in advance and offered a support and safety plan.”

It adds:

“this is extremely disappointing as it was one of the key asks from the previous emergency release programme”.

Is Pauline McNeill concerned that lessons are not being learned and that we will be here again in a few months’ time?

Okay. There are a few other things, but I will leave it there.

My question goes back to the issue of electronic monitoring. Lynsey Smith, you said that there is a marked difference from the previous time when people were released early, because we are not living with Covid restrictions. Do you think that the people who are released early should be put on electronic monitoring?

I was going to come to that next. We already know that, when people are released from prison, there can be issues with housing, medical supplies, getting a bank account or sorting out benefits. Families Outside made the comment:

“For some families, the return of a parent or other family member from prison is not always a positive experience. A lack of notice about the upcoming releases can make the experience even more stressful for families and, in some cases, may place them at risk of harm.”

Is enough support provided when people are released early? We are doing this at pace. What are the concerns?

If you are not happy with the plan, would you use the veto?