SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

WRITTEN ANSWER

10 April 2014           

Index Heading: Learning and Justice

 Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Government  which (a) international experts and (b) children and family groups the Scottish Prison Service has consulted regarding the design of HMP Inverclyde.

(S4W-20342)

Mr Kenny MacAskill MSP:

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The HMP & YOI Inverclyde Project Design Team have carried out extensive literature reviews and benchmarking exercises to ensure the facility is robustly designed to meet the needs of women. This included attendance at international events as well as a range of institutions both at home and abroad meeting with a range of experts.

SACRO, Families Outside, Turning Point, Willow Project are an example of some of the children and family groups who have been involved during the development’s design phase.

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

Often we only think of children in realtion to prison by the number of new borns in Cornton Vale's mother and baby unity. However, as Alan Robertson points out in a detailed article in today's Holyrood Magazine, there are a great number of children who must cope with the traumatic loss of their parent through imprinsment and all the difficulties which that entails. As Cyrus Tata states, 'It simply isn't good enough for us to say as a society that children are some sort of collateral damage of parents’ offending'.

This is one of the most important aspects of women's prisons regimes that SPS must get right if Inverclyde is to live up to its promise of 'reflect[ing] a fresh approach to rehabilitation and wellbeing' of women prisoners.

Find out more:

• Alan Robertson, Holyrood Magazine, Innocent Victims
• Kenny MacAskill PQ on Family Visiting Facilities in Inverclyde
• Voicing the needs of families affected by imprisonment in Scotland Families Outide
• Supproting families in Scotland Circle Scotland