The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011

Proceedings of visiting committees

148.—(1) At the first meeting of a visiting committee, the members must—

(a) elect from the membership, a chair and a deputy chair each for a period of 4 years; and

(b) appoint a person (not being a member of staff of the Scottish Administration) to act as a clerk to the Committee.

(2) A person elected to be a chair or a deputy chair of the visiting committee may resign the office at any time and must do so if that person, for whatever reason, ceases to hold office as a member of the committee.

(3) In the event of any vacancy in the office of chair or deputy chair of a visiting committee, the members must, as soon as practicable, elect another member to fill the vacancy and to hold office for the remaining part of the period of 4 years.

(4) The chair of the visiting committee for a prison must report to the Scottish Ministers the names and addresses of the members of the committee immediately after the first meeting and, thereafter, whenever a change in these details or in the membership occurs.

(5) The visiting committee for a prison must meet at the prison at least once in every period of 3 months.

(6) A visiting committee may appoint sub-committees from its membership and may delegate specific duties to any such sub-committee for the purpose of carrying out its functions.

(7) A visiting committee must fix a quorum of not less than one-third of the total number of members required to be appointed to that committee for the purpose of its proceedings, and for the proceedings of any sub-committee appointed under paragraph (6).

(8) The proceedings of a visiting committee are not invalidated by any vacancy in the membership or any defect in the appointment of a member.

(9) A visiting committee must keep minutes of its proceedings and must send a copy of such minutes to the Governor of the relevant prison and to the Scottish Ministers as soon as reasonably practicable after the relevant proceedings.