The next item of business is consideration of Parliamentary Bureau motion S6M-18101, on approval of a Scottish statutory instrument. I ask Jamie Hepburn to move the motion on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees that the Home Detention Curfew (Amendment of Specified Time Periods) (Scotland) Order 2025 [draft] be approved.—[Jamie Hepburn]
21:37
This SSI makes a small but far-reaching change to the home detention curfew regime, in which, subject to licence conditions, eligible prisoners are released from custody into the community.
At the moment, a prisoner can get HDC once they have served a quarter of their sentence. The SSI reduces that to a mere 15 per cent. A prisoner who is sentenced to two years in prison would therefore now be eligible for HDC after just three and a half months.
We all know that, due to a lack of any overarching strategy and an inability to build capacity, our prisons are running way over capacity. However, absent any such strategy, the Scottish National Party knee-jerks its response: last summer, and again earlier this year, the SNP opened the gates and let hundreds of prisoners out early. Despite that, by February 2025, prison numbers exceeded the pre-summer-release figure by almost 100, not least because more than one in 10 of the original cohort was back behind bars within weeks.
The SNP tried putting more people on community service, yet almost 30,000 such orders have been breached in the past decade or so. Roughly 8,000 of those involved got the jail for their breach, thus adding to the numbers.
Then the SNP changed the law such that short-term prisoners would automatically be released after serving just 40 per cent of their sentence, despite evidence showing that too little time in prison can prejudice proper rehabilitation—yet the prison population remains stubbornly high.
Clearly, this SSI is just the latest knee-jerk attempt to reduce the prison population. As was the case with the other measures, we have been given no evidence that it will either aid rehabilitation or, ultimately, reduce the prison population. Crucially, there is no consideration of the victims of crime. Indeed, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs told the Criminal Justice Committee that no specific research has been undertaken on the impact that the SSI might have on victims.
Last month, I raised the case of violent thug Andrew Brown, who, just one year into a four-year sentence for repeatedly subjecting Demi Hannaway to appalling mental and physical abuse, even when she was pregnant, will get home leave. That is under the current rules. If colleagues vote to approve the SSI today, they are voting to allow criminals such as Brown to be eligible for HDC after seven months. The mere thought disgusts me, and any other MSP who feels the same must vote against the SSI tonight.
21:40
I will confine my remarks tightly and strictly to the substance of the statutory instrument that is before us tonight.
I thank the Parliament clerks and Criminal Justice Committee members for accommodating the scrutiny of this SSI with only the minimum period of 40 days. I trust that Parliament will support the proposals, which will allow completion of the SSI process before recess. That will ensure that the Scottish Prison Service, justice social work and partners have increased time to prepare for the proposed changes that will come into force on 20 October.
The planned changes are a programme for Government commitment for 2024-25 that contribute to the efforts to effectively balance the use of custody and community alternatives while supporting a sustainable prison population. Home detention curfew is a well-established part of our justice system that provides a structured and managed transition for individuals being released back into the community. Indeed, the legislation that home detention curfew is located in is the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, which was introduced by a former Tory Government—I appreciate that that was in 1993, when I was at my work as a social worker and Mr Kerr was perhaps still at school.
The evidence shows that managed reintegration is far more effective than unplanned releases. It is also important to put on the record that release on home detention curfew is underpinned by individualised risk assessment and includes clear licence conditions, including a curfew and electronic monitoring. There is no automatic right to home detention curfew. Decisions on HDC release are made by the SPS following careful consideration of each case, including evidence provided by justice social work and Police Scotland. I reassure members that the SSI does not alter any of the aspects of risk assessment in the HDC process. It does not alter any of the statutory exclusions in any shape or form.
In the cabinet secretary’s own words, no research has been done on the impact of the change on victims. Last summer, only 2 per cent of victims were told about the early release. Given those facts, surely the right thing to do today is to take the plans back to the drawing board, do the research and carry out a proper consultation so that we can understand the impact on victims.
Please conclude, cabinet secretary.
In conclusion, there are decades of research that support what works with the reintegration of offenders when they return to their community.
As I shared with the Criminal Justice Committee when I gave evidence to it, the recall rate is low, at 7 per cent, and any registered victim on the victim notification scheme will be informed if someone is to be released on home detention curfew. It is the case that all individuals will continue to be fully assessed. The SSI proposes changes to two out of the range of statutory criteria that must be met. This realignment of policy is in response to the previous changes that the Parliament made to the release of short-term prisoners. I encourage members to support the SSI.
The question on the motion will be put at decision time.
The next item of business is consideration of Parliamentary Bureau motion S6M-18102, on the designation of a lead committee. I ask Jamie Hepburn to move the motion on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau.
Motion moved,
That the Parliament agrees that the Education, Children and Young People Committee be designated as the lead committee in consideration of the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.—[Jamie Hepburn]
The question on the motion will be put at decision time.
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