Prison Visiting Committees

That the Parliament notes with concern the Scottish Government's proposals to abolish prison visiting committees and replace them with a prisoner advocacy service; considers that the independent scrutiny of prison conditions through regular, unannounced inspections and the independent examination of prisoner complaints is an important check and balance for the prison system; believes that, as they provide regular external scrutiny, are appointed from the local community and are independent from the Scottish Prison Service, prison visiting committees provide a distinct but complementary role to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons; notes that the Scottish Government's consultation on the independent monitoring of prisons, which was carried out in 2011, did not include proposals for an advocacy service to replace the committees and that 59 out of 60 respondents to the consultation wanted to retain the independent oversight role that it considers the committees fulfil; further notes that, in 2005, a review of the committees recommended that they be re-established as independent monitoring boards and that there should be changes to improve their impact and consistency; understands that, on 22 December 2011, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice said that the cost of running the committees was less than that anticipated for the proposed advocacy service, and believes that prison visiting committees offer excellent value for money, that they should be retained and that the proposed prisoner advocacy service should complement, but not replace, their role.