Decision Report 201300835

Summary

The Tribunal of the Parole Board for Scotland considered Mr C's case in July 2012 and decided that before they did so again in July 2013, he should have some experience outside prison, to demonstrate that he could sustain the improvements in his behaviour. Mr C, who is a prisoner, complained that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) did not give him that opportunity.

Before Mr C could spend time outside prison, his case had to be considered by the prison's risk management team (RMT). They met in April 2013 and decided that progression to more-open conditions would not be appropriate at that time.

Our investigation found that the time taken between the July 2012 hearing and the RMT meeting was reasonable, given a number of factors, including the fact that Mr C did not meet the relevant criteria until October 2012. It is not for us to review RMT decisions, but we were able to consider whether the decision making had been appropriate - for example, whether the RMT had obtained and considered appropriate information. Investigation revealed that this had been the case. We were satisfied that there were no avoidable delays by the SPS either in the timing of the RMT or in the way in which the RMT reached their decision.