Ministerial Accountability Board: progress report - September 2025
Information collected for the September meeting of the Ministerial Accountability Board reporting on the progress made towards the completion of the various recommendations and commitments being monitored by the board. It is based on information from Scottish Government, NHS Forth Valley and the Scottish Prison Service.
8. Theme: Bullying Prevention and Response
Recommendation 10 (Katie & William FAI): SPS should introduce a system so as to ensure that where intelligence information is received suggesting that a young prisoner has been or is being bullied it is promptly and proactively shared with the relevant SPS staff.
RAG Ratings:
June - Green - September - Green
Progress:
Ongoing:
- A working group has been established and is looking to identify expert third sector and charity organisations to support in the development of a new anti-bullying strategy.
- Dedicated SPS resource has been allocated to this project including the recruitment of a lead role.
- A research piece has been commissioned to explore the impact of bullying in the custodial environment, in particular in Scottish prisons. This is to provide a user voice led perspective to identifying barriers to successful implementation of the existing strategy and give critical insight into developing a new strategy.
Recommendation 7 (Jack McKenzie FAI): Review active patrolling guidance to address anti-social behaviour at night.
RAG Ratings:
June - Green - September - Green
Progress:
- Ongoing:
- Information has been gathered from establishments on staffing levels during patrol periods, this is currently being analysed prior to a report being created with key findings and recommendations for areas of improvement.