UNEASE and anxiety about the implications of market testing are being

voiced among prison staff, it was disclosed yesterday.

Mr Alan Bishop, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in Scotland, launching

his annual report in Edinburgh, said the issue was being raised

repeatedly.

The publication of the report for 1992-93 comes only days after

private sector involvement in Scottish prisons became a reality. An

English construction conglomerate won the right to maintain Barlinnie,

Scotland's largest jail.

Staff at Edinburgh, Perth and Shotts were told their in-house teams,

which had bid for the work in the first round of market testing, had

been successful.

Mr Bishop said that during establishment inspections it had been

impressed upon them that morale was inevitably affected by the

unsettling effect of experiment and rumour, to say nothing of the

potential effect on jobs and promotion prospects.

He said the inspectorate would have to reserve judgment.

Mr Bishop, who described the service in 1992-93 as being ''in good

heart'', said they had noticed an increasing tendency on part of staff

groups to raise the market testing issue. ''It is fair to say they were

uneasy, anxious, worried about the implications.''

He said one way he had responded was to tell staff ''to get stuck in''

and do their best in putting in an offer. ''Clearly that advice was

followed,'' he said referring to the success of the three in-house bids

earlier this week.

The report also said maintaining family links took high priority in

preparing prisoners for release but they had to report a continuing

abuse of open visits over the passing of illicit substances.

The inspectorate believes it is virtually impossible to stamp it out

fully and that it involves ''a balancing act'' -- trying to do this and

also trying to maintain family links.