"Slopping out" provision now £44m
2 Aug 05
Prison Service marks up set-aside for compensation cases
The Scottish Prison Service has increased from £26m to £44m its budget for compensating prisoners bringing claims for degrading conditions, it has been revealed.
The 70% increase comes as the service faces up to 1,000 claims from serving and former prisoners who allege that "slopping out" and other poor conditions infringe their right under the European Convention not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading conditions. Three hundred actions have already been raised.
In the first successful case armed robber Robert Napier won £2,450 after alleging that he suffered an outbreak of eczema when slopping out at Barlinnie Prison. Although the practice is being phased out, several hundred inmates still have to use chamber pots instead of toilets in Scottish jails.
Future test cases could further increase the potential liability.