12.1 During the course of the inspection, we met with the Chairman of the VC, which had a total of eleven members drawn from Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire. The Committee met on a regular basis and normally at least quarterly. A rota had been devised whereby there were visits to the prison on a fortnightly basis, which included fairly regular inspections of the dormitories, worksheds and Health Centre. A prisoners’ complaint book was available but we were told that the Committee received very few approaches from prisoners.

12.2 The main issues raised were as follows:-

12.2.1 Relationships with local Management were good.

12.2.2 Staff/prisoner relationships were thought to be quite good.

12.2.3 Catering standards were excellent, particularly considering that staff were cooking for a very large and constantly changing population.

12.2.4 Relationships with the neighbouring community were good and local opinion had not been as negative as had been claimed at the time when Low Moss was being considered as the possible site for a new private prison. It was pointed out to us that the prison occupied a prime site and with the advent of the new motorway, it would be in a strategic location - eg, for any further PFI initiatives. The view of the Committee was that there was also plenty of work for Category ‘D’ prisoners in the local area.

12.2.5 The Committee also felt that it was time that a decision about the prison’s medium and long term future was made. Accommodation in wooden huts could not go on indefinitely and they hoped that a major decision could be made within the next few months, perhaps once SPS prisoner population trends were clearer.

12.2.6 The drugs problem among prisoners had been growing over the years but the Committee were delighted with the drug free dormitory initiatives which the Governor had instituted.

12.2.7 Finally, it was claimed that the public ought to be pleased with the cost-effectiveness of Low Moss, which had the lowest per capita costs in the SPS (£12,700 per male prisoner per year compared with an average cost in excess of £28,000 elsewhere).