The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011

Constitution of visiting committees for prisons

146.—(1) A visiting committee must be constituted, in accordance with this rule, for each prison specified in column 1 of Schedule 2.

(2) In relation to each such visiting committee—

(a) the members of the visiting committee must be appointed by the council or councils specified in column 2 of Schedule 2 opposite to the name of the prison specified in column 1 of that Schedule;

(b) the number of members that each council must appoint to the visiting committee is specified in column 3 of that Schedule; and

(c) the number of members who must be appointed by each council but who must not be members of that council is specified in column 4 of that Schedule .

(3) Any person with a direct financial interest in any contract for the supply of goods or services to any prison is not eligible for appointment to a visiting committee in terms of this rule.

(4) The member or members of a visiting committee to be appointed by a council in terms of paragraph (2) must be appointed—

(a) subject to the following sub-paragraphs, at a meeting of that council held no later than 2 months after the date of the ordinary election of the council;

(b) if for any reason the requisite number of members of a visiting committee is not appointed at the proper time in terms of sub-paragraph (a), at a meeting of the council held as soon as possible after that time;

(c) if a member of the visiting committee ceases to hold office by virtue of paragraph (7), at a meeting of the council held as soon as possible after that member ceases to hold office; and

(d) if for any other reason a vacancy occurs in a visiting committee, at a meeting of the council held as soon as possible after the vacancy occurs.

(5) A member of a visiting committee appointed by a council under—

(a) paragraph (4)(a), will take office on the day which falls 2 months after the date of the ordinary election of the council;

(b) paragraph (4)(b), (c) or (d), will take office on the day following the appointment.

(6) A member of a visiting committee appointed by a council under paragraph (4) holds office until—

(a) he or she ceases to hold office by virtue of paragraph (7); or

(b) until the day prior to the day which falls 2 months after the date of the next ordinary election of the council.

(7) A member of a visiting committee ceases to hold office if—

(a) he or she resigns;

(b) the council who appointed the member terminates the member’s appointment on being satisfied that—

(i) the member has failed satisfactorily to perform his or her duties;

(ii) the member is for any other reason incapable of carrying out his or her duties;

(iii) subsequent to his or her appointment, the member has been convicted of such a criminal offence, or the member’s conduct has been such, that it is not fitting that he or she should remain a member; or

(iv) the member has a direct financial interest contrary to the terms of rule 154; or

(c) having been appointed a member whilst also a member of a relevant council under Schedule 2, that council terminates his or her appointment by reason of having ceased to be a member of the council.

(8) The chair of a visiting committee must report any circumstances which he or she considers might reasonably give cause for termination, in terms of paragraph (7), of the appointment of a member of the visiting committee to the council responsible for appointing the member of the visiting committee.

(9) In this rule, “the ordinary election of the council” means the first ordinary election of councillors of the council under section 5 of the Local Government Etc. (Scotland) Act 1994(1).

(1)

1994 c.39; section 5 was amended by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 9), section 5(2); the Scottish Local Government (Elections) Act 2002 (asp 1), section 4(2); and the Scottish Local Government (Elections) Act 2009 (asp 10), section 1(1) and Schedule 1, paragraph 2.