Scottish Government Debate: Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population

Neil Gray S7M-00469 Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population—That the Parliament recognises the scale and complexity of the current prison population, which is above the design and operational capacity of the estate and causes significant associated operational and safety risks for prison staff; notes that Scotland has one of the highest prison populations in western Europe; acknowledges the underlying drivers, including the growing number of individuals convicted of serious violent and sexual offences who receive longer sentences, reflecting progress in how the justice system supports victims and holds offenders to account; notes that the cost per prisoner per year to the public purse is £52,000; recognises the importance of effective rehabilitation to reduce re-offending and to benefit the communities that individuals return to; agrees that public safety is paramount and that it is vital that victims are supported and have confidence in the justice system, and agrees, therefore, that a balanced package of measures to increase capacity in the prison estate, expand effective community sentencing, and enact preventative measures to stop people entering or re-entering the prison system, are necessary to achieve a sustainable prison population now and in the future. Further details available for S7M-00469 Pauline McNeill S7M-00469.2 Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population—As an amendment to motion S7M-00469, in the name of Neil Gray (Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population), insert at end "; is concerned that the current prison population crisis is chronically hampering effective rehabilitation; calls on the Scottish Government to increase its investment in GPS technology and speed up its roll out, and notes that the current approach to rehabilitation, community justice and early release is failing to address the prison population crisis." Further details available for S7M-00469.2 Amanda Bland S7M-00469.1 Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population—As an amendment to motion S7M-00469, in the name of Neil Gray (Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population), leave out from “acknowledges” to end, and insert "notes that data on prison population published in 2025 show that 63% of current prisoners have been incarcerated before, highlighting the highly cyclical nature of the prison population; expresses concern that the Scottish Government has sought to attribute the unsustainable prison population to external factors, while not fully acknowledging the extent to which failings in both its rehabilitation programme and its approach to tackling the longer term issues have a comparatively much bigger impact; agrees that these failings, combined with the use of early release, put the public at increased risk, and resolves that more intensive support is required to support individuals out of a life of crime and offending, alongside the introduction of minimum sentences for crimes as a stronger deterrent." Further details available for S7M-00469.1 Maggie Chapman S7M-00469.3 Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population—As an amendment to S7M-00469, in the name of Neil Gray (Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population), leave out from second “operational” to end and insert “human rights and safety risks for staff and prisoners; further recognises the importance of prioritising harm reduction across the justice system; believes that incarceration should always be the last resort, once all other alternatives have been exhausted; notes that Scotland has one of the highest prison populations in western Europe, including a disproportionate remand population; acknowledges the underlying drivers, including poverty, inequality, homelessness and experience of the care system; notes that the cost per prisoner per year to the public purse is £52,200; recognises the need for effective rehabilitation to reduce offending and re-offending and to benefit the communities that individuals return to; agrees that public safety is paramount and that it is vital that victims and survivors should be at the heart of the justice system, and must be supported and have confidence in it, and agrees, therefore, that a balanced package of measures to expand effective community sentencing and other alternatives to prison, such as restorative justice, bail supervision and supported accommodation, and to enact preventative measures to stop people entering or re-entering the prison system, including sustained investment in housing, mental health services, youth work, addiction services and community support, as part of a transformative justice approach, are necessary to achieve a sustainable prison population now and in the future.” Further details available for S7M-00469.3 Stephen Kerr S7M-00469.5 Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population—As an amendment to S7M-00469, in the name of Neil Gray (Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population), leave out from “acknowledges the underlying drivers” to end, and insert "recognises that the current pressures on Scotland's prison estate were repeatedly highlighted by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons and were described as 'not unexpected'; notes that prison overcrowding did not emerge suddenly but follows years of warnings regarding prison capacity, rehabilitation, safety and prisoner welfare; rejects any suggestion that the current situation is unavoidable; notes with concern that more than a quarter of Scotland's prison population is comprised of remand prisoners awaiting the conclusion of court proceedings; believes that persistent court backlogs and delays across the justice system are significant contributors to prison overcrowding and are preventing victims, witnesses and accused individuals from obtaining timely justice; notes that over 1,300 foreign national offenders are currently held within Scotland's prison estate and believes that greater use should be made of appropriate repatriation arrangements; expresses alarm at the record number of deaths in custody, including a record number of suicides; recognises the impact that overcrowding is having on rehabilitation, purposeful activity and public protection; agrees that public safety, justice for victims and confidence in the rule of law must remain paramount; believes that Scottish Ministers must set out the reasons why repeated warnings regarding overcrowding, remand levels, deaths in custody and prison conditions were not acted upon sooner; further believes that achieving a sustainable prison population requires action to reduce court delays, address the high remand population, improve access to rehabilitation and offender programmes, increase the effective repatriation of foreign national offenders where appropriate, and provide sufficient prison capacity to meet operational demand, and believes that the long-term sustainability of Scotland's prison population depends upon addressing the underlying causes of overcrowding rather than relying on the early release of prisoners as a substitute for effective management of the justice system." Further details available for S7M-00469.5 Yi-pei Chou Turvey S7M-00469.4 Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population—As an amendment to motion S7M-00469 in the name of Neil Gray (Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population), insert at end "; further notes the persistently high remand population and the contribution that court delays and wider pressures within the justice system have on overcrowding in the prison estate; believes that public protection, rehabilitation, alternatives to custody and a reduction in reoffending must be pursued together rather than in competition with one another; further believes that investment in addiction treatment, mental health services, supported housing and effective community justice are essential to reducing offending and easing the pressure on prisons, and calls on the Scottish Government to publish a long-term strategy for achieving a sustainable prison population that commands public confidence and adequately supports victims and their rights to information, protection and safety." Further details available for S7M-00469.4