Meeting of the Parliament 28 January 2015
None of us on the committee thought that what was proposed was perfect, but I do not recall anyone opposing it aggressively. We had huge reservations about local access. I can remember reasonable questions being asked by Elaine Murray and me about the south of Scotland, and by Margaret Mitchell about local access. The tenor of the discussion was, “If this is what’s on offer, let’s get the local stuff sorted out and let’s get the people who are really difficult inside the new prison.” There was not aggressive opposition to the proposal at that time. I know that the mood in committees is very different from the mood in the chamber, where proceedings are more confrontational. Such an environment is not right for committees. I put it on record that of course I welcome the turnaround.
Members have been in a difficult position for years. Richard Simpson produced an excellent report called “A Better Way” in 2002. One of the recommendations was about
“Shifting the culture towards rehabilitation and treatment.”
It is not Richard Simpson’s fault that that culture shift was not fully achieved. Jim Wallace was the Minister for Justice at the time. Labour and the Liberals were in power for eight years, but they did not manage to make the necessary change. I think that this is the first time that the Parliament is grasping the thistle and saying, “This must be done, because women offenders deserve to be dealt with differently.” Once we have done that, we might be able to move on to other people in the criminal justice system, such as young offenders, who might also be victims and need support.
I welcome the Government’s move. I do not want the issue to be treated as a political football. I have been here too long and have seen good people in other parties trying to change things. The change is about to be made. Let us do it, and let us give credit to the cabinet secretary. After being in post for one month, he decided to change the approach.
The solution is not an easy one. As Alison McInnes has quite rightly made clear—my goodness, I think that I have mentioned her four times now—we have to look at sentencing, judicial training and resources, by which I mean having the right people in the right place. It is of course important that people maintain their rented accommodation. One of the first things that we heard on our visit to the 218 project was that, when a woman came out of prison, someone was there to meet her, get her into a taxi and take her somewhere. It meant that she was not left standing outside, with nowhere to go. The second thing we heard at the project was that the people involved ensured that Glasgow City Council kept the person’s rented accommodation open while they were in prison. Such measures are simple and practical.
This is a difficult issue, and sometimes the public will not be on our side. If they see someone who has been in prison—or, indeed, who has not been put in prison—getting a helping hand in society, they will say, “Why are they getting that, and not a member of my family?” That is where the Parliament must show leadership and make it clear that these women, their families and their children are, in the main, victims. There are some really bad people who will have to be imprisoned in a national facility for society’s protection, but most of the women whom we are talking about are more of a danger to themselves than they are to society at large.
I very much welcome the approach that has been taken, and I hope that I am not going to see any more headlines in the papers that make it difficult for people like me to be consensual when that is what we want to be in our hearts.
16:06