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1. PREAMBLE
1.1 Slopping out ended in Edinburgh Prison on 2 June 2005. The improvement in living conditions for prisoners who had been subject to slopping out is enormous. The improvement in working conditions for prison staff is also considerable.
1.2 All prisoners in Edinburgh now live in decent conditions. All prisoners now have access to toilets and many live in conditions which are very good. The completion of two large new residential blocks within the last two years has transformed the prison. There are eight prisons in Scotland which hold fewer prisoners than Ingliston House, the latest of these new blocks.
1.3 The transformation of the prison has also resulted in the opening of 'The Hub', a building designed to hold the Health Centre, the Learning Centre, the Links Centre and much else besides. This is an excellent facility, although the report suggests that it will take time to learn how to make the best use of it.
1.4 The benefits to prisoners and staff of investment in living and working conditions have been recognised in several reports in recent years. This report confirms that other things tend to be better when living and working conditions are better. This report also recognises how well Edinburgh prison is managing the changes which have been taking place.
1.5 In the context of all of these improvements, it needs to be acknowledged that there are costs and consequences. This report asks some serious questions.
1.6 First, the rebuilding programme means that there is not at present appropriate space for work for prisoners. The best possible use has been made of the old Forth and Pentland Halls as a temporary site until new accommodation is built. But the report shows that it is not enough to provide meaningful activities for every prisoner, particularly remand prisoners and prisoners serving up to 60 days.
1.7 Second, remand prisoners now live in the least good accommodation in the prison. When Glenesk House was opened in 1998 it signalled a determination that remand prisoners should be held in good conditions, as is appropriate for their status. However, remand halls are more difficult to keep clean and well furnished. This report suggests that remand prisoners are in danger of being left behind in the new Edinburgh prison. The argument is not that they should be moved whenever a new hall is opened: but that the cleanliness, bedding and furniture of their hall should not be worse than that of convicted prisoners.
1.8 Third, in Ingliston House, the newest block, some long-term prisoners are sharing cells (which are designed for that purpose). As far as possible, the Scottish Prison Service has tried in recent years to provide single-cell accommodation for long-term prisoners. During the inspection several prisoners expressed frustration about their move from single cell accommodation in other prisons, although only one formal complaint had been made. It will be important to monitor the effects of regularly holding long-term prisoners in shared accommodation.
1.9 Fourth, life-sentence prisoners near the end of their sentence and preparing for release no longer have the distinct identity and opportunities which were theirs in Pentland Hall. Since they now live on one floor of a much larger hall, they do not have the physical separation nor the free access to the open air which they had before.
1.10 Since the last inspection the number of long-term prisoners in Edinburgh has increased very considerably. It is too early to say whether or not the needs of these prisoners are being met; but the report does show that a good beginning is being made in terms of Sentence Management.
1.11 A worrying aspect of this report is its account of provision for mental health, provision which is very poor indeed. Despite the best efforts of staff, prisoners who arrive in Edinburgh prison with mental health problems are not well served.
1.12 The induction programme is a model of good practice. Particularly important is the family induction, when parents or partners are invited to the prison to see inside its walls for themselves, and to meet prison staff. The induction programme is also one example among several of the use of "peer prisoners" to help other prisoners to learn.
1.13 There is good evidence that Edinburgh is a safe prison: evidence from statistics, from the SPS Prisoner Survey, from the experience of inspection, and from the comments of every prisoner group met during the inspection.
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