12. VISITING COMMITTEE

12.1 We met with two members of the HMP Shotts Visiting Committee (VC), which had a total membership of 17. This Committee had responsibility not only for visiting Shotts but also for the other two establishments contained within its perimeter - i.e., the Shotts Unit and the NIC. A rota had been devised which ensured that at least one member of the VC was making a visit to the NIC each week, invariably in the evenings, which included regular inspection of the cell and recreation areas, the workshed and visits room. Food was also being sampled and though the Committee members were meant to record general complaints by prisoners in the request book as required by statute, both members reported that they received very few complaints or requests.

12.2 The main issues raised by Committee representatives included the following:-

12.2.1 Relationships with the Governor, the Deputy and other members of staff were extremely good. The Committee representatives felt that they were being kept abreast of all major issues, including the Strategic Plan for the establishment.

12.2.2 Staff/prisoner relationships were excellent and there was a relaxed but purposeful atmosphere throughout, despite the profiles of some of the violent prisoners who were being held there.

12.2.3 Catering standards were generally adequate.

12.2.4 The Committee was impressed with the arrangements for random MDT, though they said that their impression was that drug misuse was fairly common in the establishment. They also said that they had been receiving recent indications that some of the prisoners were changing from cannabis to heroin in order to avoid MDT detection, which was a major worry.

12.3 The Committee concluded by saying that whilst there was always room for improvement in any prison, they were most impressed with the NIC. Its original concept had been excellent but more importantly, they could now see it working in practice. In their view, the NIC was making a major contribution towards reducing tension elsewhere in the SPS by better preparing prisoners to cope with very long sentences. They said that what was happening with induction at the NIC and in its general regime was what should be happening throughout the SPS, not just for long term prisoners but also for young offenders, women and even short term prisoners.

12.4 Finally, they stated that they thought the public was getting extremely good value for money from the NIC, via its committed and professional prison staff. They were also complimentary about the current staff gender mix which, in their view, was helping to create a very positive atmosphere.