Allan Menzies

However, the criteria to be used should, in my opinion, be known to both the staff and the prisoners and ought to include inter alia the index offence, the issues behind it, his home circumstances, his personal preferences within reason, any outstanding appeal and the length of time spent within the NIC, any health issues and with the prisoners being advised when it was intended they moved out and their proposed destination.

A recognised plan ought to be put in place.

If a prisoner was not ready to move out then he should remain.

Such an assessment ought to be used in conjunction with the list system but neither should be used alone.

It is important that the list is transparent to the extent that it is published or at the very least the prisoner is advised on a regular basis where they stand on the list and when it is anticipated that they will move on.

There were various procedures which had to be gone through and I concluded that it would not be excessive to suggest that the procedures ought to include the staff finding out if any visits had been arranged by a prisoner for the immediate future which would result in that visit being necessarily cancelled.