New Eurochips member Families Outside is working alongside Members of the Scottish Parliament to coordinate a new Cross-Party Group on Children and Families Affected by Imprisonment. The Group met for the first time on 26 October 2011.
Families Outside is a national Scottish charity that works solely on behalf of children and families affected by imprisonment. The impact of a family member’s imprisonment spreads well beyond the criminal justice process. Such work requires engagement not only with prisons, police, social work and courts, but also with health, schools, social welfare and finance, housing, travel and transport and many others.
Families Outside’s repeated campaigning and consultation with the Scottish Parliament is finally paying off. Support from all of the main political parties has led to the creation of a Cross-Party working group on this issue in the Scottish Parliament for the first time. The Cross Party Group will create a voice in the Scottish Parliament with the aim to raise the profile of this issue both in and out of the Parliament.
The Cross-Party Group also aims to push the Scottish Government into changing its laws, rights and systems relevant to these children and families.