- in principle, the hearing takes place in a specially-equipped court room; in other words it is held outside of the ordinary bench of the court, which of course increases judges’ expenses (in particular, in certain places to which access in difficult, for example in winter) as well as those of lawyers87; but it enables patients to appear with a far less troubled mind than in the courthouse and under the conditions of a familiar setting, which is essential in this regard. It is true that the presiding judge of the court reserves the right to convene a second hearing in a room of the courthouse. It might be hoped that this option will only be put in to practice on an entirely exceptional basis. However, pursuant to I of article 14 of the Act of 27th September 2013, the latter arrangements will only come into force on 1st September 2014, which probably provides the time necessary for fitting-out the required rooms in hospitals, virtually all of the latter having either already put such rooms in place, or declared that they are ready to do so. It may be hoped that the criteria originally provided for by the authorities with regard to these rooms (30 m² at least, with fifteen places for the public88) will be somewhat reduced, in the interests of realism. 7. Actions taken in response to Inspections overall The inspection reports sent in 2013, which make it possible to assess the actions taken in response to inspections of institutions generally speaking, confirm the trends which have already been emphasised in previous annual reports. Several factors thus need to be emphasised. In the first place, the small extent of the prisons administrations’ influence with regard to obtaining the assistance that it requires, when the latter is financed by other corporations. This is the case with regard to access to institutions by means of public transport. Between the Contrôle Général’s two inspections of the institution for minors in Quiévrechain, near Valenciennes, the environment has become more urban; a neighbourhood (principally under home-ownership access programmes for low-income households) has been built. However, this was not followed by any extension of the public transport network, which is harmful for an institution which has made relations with imprisoned children’s families an essential element of its policy. The same may be said with regard to other sources of funding, whether at the municipal (social welfare), departmental (child welfare) or State (urban policy, professional training etc.) levels. Penal institutions suffer the knock-on effects of choices made elsewhere, without any possibility of negotiation. In this respect, the low level of investment in prisons on the part of prefects with regard to all considerations other than security is doubtless to be noted. Assessment meetings should provide an opportunity to address these issues, in a period of reduction in public funds. This is rarely the case. In the second place, certain inspections are made in the context of ongoing renovation operations undertaken by the prisons administration, which have been in progress for considerable lengths of time. After the inspection, improvements may be noted, however these fit into a previously defined framework. Such is the case for Baumettes prison (already mentioned under § 2.1 above). This is also the situation with regard to the remand prison of Fleury-Mérogis, of which the “fans” (buildings) are refurbished one after the other. “Fan” D4, which housed the health unit and new arrivals in particular, is the last of the ordinary buildings currently being 87 A fact which probably constitutes an argument in favour of an increase in the amounts paid to them in legal aid (on this point also see Section 6 below). 88 Cf. Report of Messrs Blisco and Lefrand, op. cit. 78