The Basic Cooking Skills/Healthy Eating (BaCE) programme was first proposed in Her Majesty’s
Young Offender Institution (HMYOI) Polmont in 2008 as a collaborative health improvement
venture between NHS Forth Valley (NHSFV) and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS). The
collaboration sought to develop the programme, including its structure, content, delivery, and
to use it as a social learning tool, based on existing resources and practices within the local
NHS Health Board and Prison Service. By 2012, the programme was being delivered jointly
from within the Independent Living Unit (ILU) in Polmont and by a NHSFV community food
development worker (CFDW) and an SPS officer. BaCE had a variety of goals including the
promotion of independent living skills, improving dietary knowledge and increasing health
improvement capacity within HMYOI Polmont.