David Mitchell from the Rossie Young People's Trust says adverse childhood experiences have a long-lasting impact on behaviour and how young people learn.

A lot of work we do with children in secure care is to calm then down because they are often on high alert due to previous experiences, he explains.

Alison Gough from the Good Shepherd Centre says the majority of children arrive in secure care with significant psychological distress, with a third of people the Centre helps having attempted to end their lives.

The young people will all have mental health and wellbeing needs, whether or not it is a specific mental health issue, she explains.

Committee convener Margaret Mitchell now introduces:

• Alison Gough from The Good Shepherd Centre, external
• Audrey Baird, from the Kibble Education and Care Centre, external
• David Mitchell from the Rossie Young People's Trust, external
• Carol Dearie from St Mary's Kenmure, external
• Colin McConnell, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service, external
• Lesley McDowall, health strategy and suicide prevention manager with Scottish Prison Service, external

Tory MSP Liam Kerr asks what maximising support for people on remand would look like in practice.

The prisons inspector says the data on those on remand is not readily available and she suggests there must be a needs analysis first.

Dr Smith argues brief mental health interventions should be available to young people on remand.

Ms Sinclair-Gieben insists there must be a mental health strategy across prisons in Scotland, highlighting one of the main problems faced by prisons is a lack of dedicated mental health staff.

That ends the first panel of the committee.

SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor asks whether ending short-term sentences would help alleviate some of the challenges facing prisons.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben welcomes the reduction of short sentences, adding it does impact recidivism.

However, she warns it will not have the effect she would like to see on prisoner numbers due to more longer-term sentences and the increasing number of legacy sex offences.

Proposals to restrict the use of short prison sentences have been published by the Scottish government.

If passed by MSPs at Holyrood, it will oblige courts to explain why custodial terms of less than a year were given.

Ministers say the current presumption against sentences of three months or less has helped achieve a 19-year low in re-conviction rates.

Read more.

Green MSP John Finnie asks about potential challenges in the coming months within the prisons service.

Ms Sinclair-Gieben says the population rise is adding a huge amount of pressure and highlights the Scottish Prisons Service does not have any extra budget to manage these extra people.

There is also an issue with capacity in terms of human rights, she adds.

The prisons inspector also points to the risk of staff strikes.

• Scottish prison officers' union 'to call for strike action'

Committee convener Margaret Mitchell turns the discussion to staff absence, highlighting the impact this has on the uptake of support available to prisoners.

Ms Sinclair-Gieben says the last four prisons inspected had very high absence rates, which does impact on specialist services.

Should there be contingency plans to deal with this, asks Ms Mitchell.

The Scottish Prisons Service does have a contingency for that and people do get called in for over-time, Ms Sinclair-Gieben replies.

Labour MSP Daniel Johnson wonders about guaranteeing registration with a GP for those leaving the prison service.

Dr Smith says this would be a good idea in terms of continuing care, adding there has been difficulty with getting people registered.

She says there is a real disparity between the care received by those in Polmont, secure care or in the community.

In Glasgow there is enhanced access to CAMHS but this is not available across Scotland, she adds.

There is scope to pull good work together to provide better support nationally but that would take a bit of a steer, Dr Smith says.

A psychologist is now available for young people in Polmont prison, a gap that has been filled recently, Dr Smith tells the committee.

Prisons Inspector Wendy Sinclair-Gieben highlights the prisoners on remand are not required to work, under current legislation, which she says must be altered to ensure they get out of their rooms.

She also highlights that young people can get access to a phone for support, such as Samaritans, if they ask for it - which many are hesitant to do.

Ms Sinclair-Gieben suggests improving cell technology to make it easier.

She says levels of violence decreased 40% in a juvenile facility where this was installed, and levels of self-harm also fell.

Image source, PA

The parents of a student who killed herself in jail have claimed the "stark reality" of suicide rates in Scotland's prisons is being ignored.

Katie Allan was jailed for 16 months for a hit-and-run crash while drunk and later took her own life in Polmont prison.

Her parents, Linda and Stuart Allan, said 40% of all prison deaths in the last decade were suicide.

They have claimed bullying and "humiliating" strip searches led her to take her own life.

The Allans are calling for greater support for inmates.

Read more here

• Review ordered after deaths at Polmont
• 'Questions asked' over Polmont teen death
• Suicide student 'humiliated' in prison

Dr Helen Smith from NHS West of Scotland CAMHS says most children in custody have at least one mental health issue.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben agrees, adding those in custody do have a complex background.

There is a fear of the unknown and young people are having to deal with the trauma of coming in to prison, leading to more people staying in their room, the prisons inspector adds.

Convener Margaret Mitchell asks about assessments and Dr Smith confirms young people undergo assessment when first entering prison.

Prisons Inspector Wendy Sinclair-Gieben says there were areas of work the review was not able to complete due to the timescales involved.

However two clear issues were found in the review, she says:

• patchy involvement with young people
• social isolation being a key indicator for risk

Image source, FAMILY HANDOUT

A review ordered after the deaths of two young people in custody has called for the creation of a stronger suicide and self-harm strategy.

Katie Allan, 21, and 16-year-old William Lindsay died at Polmont Young Offenders' Institution last year.

The review did not examine the specific circumstances of their deaths.

However, it said social isolation should be minimised, external- particularly for those on remand or in the early weeks of a custodial sentence.

The report, by the Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, also found "systemic interagency shortcomings" in communications and the exchange of information about young people entering and leaving Polmont.

HMIPS also published a separate inspection report on Polmont, external on Tuesday.

It said considerable progress had been made in the last three years at the national facility for young offenders, aged between 16 and 21.

Read more here.

Justice Committee convener Margaret Mitchell welcomes:

• HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, external for Scotland Wendy Sinclair-Gieben
• Dr Helen Smith, consultant forensic child and adolescent psychiatrist, NHS West of Scotland Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, external

As the evidence session on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland review of mental health services at HMP YOI Polmont gets underway.

The Justice Committee will shortly take evidence on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland review of mental health services at HMP YOI Polmont from:

• HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, external for Scotland Wendy Sinclair-Gieben
• Dr Helen Smith, consultant forensic child and adolescent psychiatrist, NHS West of Scotland Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, external

Image source, SPS

......and then on secure care places for children and young people in Scotland

from:

• Alison Gough from The Good Shepherd Centre, external
• Audrey Baird, from the Kibble Education and Care Centre, external
• David Mitchell from the Rossie Young People's Trust, external
• Carol Dearie from St Mary's Kenmure, external
• Colin McConnell chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service, external
• Lesley McDowall health strategy and suicide prevention manager with Scottish Prison Service, external

Read the committee papers here., external

Image source, Getty Images

Good morning and welcome to Holyrood Live on Tuesday 28 May 2019.

Here's what we are covering today:

• Justice Committee: MSPs take evidence on secure places for children and young people in Scotland, following the deaths of Katie Allan, 21, and 16-year-old William Lindsay at Polmont Young Offenders' Institution last year
• Topical questions (tbc)
• 'Smacking ban bill’ debate: Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill stage 1 debate
• Member’s debate: SAMH report on Universal Credit and mental health