By Grant Smith

THE GOVERNOR of Tayside’s two jointly-managed open prisons should be returned to his post urgently to sort out serious problems identified in an official investigation, it was demanded yesterday.

The chairmen of the visiting committees of Noranside and Castle Huntly criticised the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) for seconding Ian Whitehead to work at HQ in Edinburgh.

They also voiced concerns that pressures on the closed prisons would mean a big rise in the number of inmates sent to the open establishments, with possibly up to 200 in each compared to the present combined total of under 300.

Dundee councillor Neil Powrie, who chairs the Noranside committee, and Mary Laurie, who heads its counterpart for Castle Huntly, were speaking in the wake of a highly critical prisons inspectorate report.

This found that sentence management procedures were worse than chaotic and prisoners were not being prepared properly for release. There was a backlog in dealing with important assessments of inmates and also failings in the way new prisoners were introduced to the prisons.

Mr Powrie said prison staff were not to blame for the difficulties because these stemmed from policy decisions by the Scottish Executive and SPS management.

He pointed out that Noranside had seen eight governors or acting governors in charge in only seven years, leading to a lack of stability. Latterly, Mr Whitehead had spent a considerable time away working on a national project and had been seconded once again.

Mr Powrie said, “This is having a detrimental effect on staff morale and on long-term planning because new people come in and they want to do things their own way.

“Ian Whitehead is a first-class governor and we have no complaints about him at all. If only he would be released to do his job.”

The visiting committee had “complained bitterly” about him being temporarily transferred and it was still not clear how long he would be away, although it was likely to be several months.

Policy changes in recent years were also making it harder for the open prisons to do their job properly, Mr Powrie said. They now had no say in which prisoners were sent to them from closed conditions, but not everyone was suitable for such transfers.

The induction process, involving prisoners being shown round the prison and told about how it operated, had also suffered. He explained, “It used to be that they all arrived on Mondays and everybody knew what they were doing, but now they come in dribs and drabs.”

While he acknowledged the problems outlined in the HM Inspectorate report, Mr Powrie insisted that these were not a reflection on the competence or professionalism of the staff and that “any problems there are caused higher up.”

Mrs Laurie said she had been “dismayed” by the inspectorate report and her committee also wanted a swift answer as to when the governor would be returning.

“We are trying to integrate the prisons into one unit. I feel disturbed that at such an important time in the life of both establishments the governor is not here to see it through. The committee are going to try to put as much pressure on this as we possibly can.”

She understood there were plans to increase the number of prisoners being sent to Castle Huntly. New accommodation was thought to be in the pipeline, but the timescale for this was unclear and would depend on financing being available.

“We are already getting prisoners who would not normally have gone into an open situation. It’s simply because the closed system is bursting at the seams. Castle Huntly is close to capacity.”

Also voicing her concerns yesterday was Angus councillor Ruth Leslie Melville, whose ward includes Noranside. She is vice- chairperson of the prison’s visiting committee.

She said, “We will be demanding that Ian Whitehead be returned as a matter of urgency. Having the governor dipping in and out is a sheer nonsense and is something the Executive should address immediately.”

Unsuitable prisoners, including those with drug problems, were being “shipped in” to the prison, as were inmates with literacy and numeracy problems that should have been tackled earlier in their sentences.

This was putting extra strain on the prison at a time when it, in common with other establishments in the SPS, was facing a 5% budget cut.

Mrs Leslie Melville said the SPS was acting in a “totally cavalier manner” and she was worried about what the outcome would be if the expected rise in the number of prisoners went ahead.

“There is no fat left to cut at Noranside and I imagine it is the same at Castle Huntly. If the numbers go up because of the appalling overcrowding in the closed system, it will put staff under tremendous pressure.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Prison Service said that chief executive Tony Cameron had written to the visiting committees and explained the situation regarding the governor.

He had given his assurance that Mr Whitehead would return to his post “as soon as considered practical and sensible to do so.”

She went on, “At present the prisons are in the hands of two very capable deputies and experienced senior management team, whom the SPS have every confidence in.

“We do not take the view that unsuitable prisoners are being sent to open prisons. If we felt they were, then they would not be sent.

“In the past year the criteria for eligibility for open prisons has been extended to include short-term prisoners. All prisoners sent to the open estate are subject to strict risk assessments to ensure their eligibility as far as possible.

“In respect to overcrowding, the Scottish prison estate is currently dealing with record numbers of prisoners. The open estate is playing its part in providing prisoner places.”