Chamber and committees

The independent Climate Change Committee has forecast that, for the Scottish and UK Governments to meet net zero targets, electricity supply must be doubled to meet demand, which would mean a significant increase in electricity infrastructure projects across the country. Will the minister advise how we can, on the one hand, work with local communities and protect our natural environment, while, on the other, being a key enabler of decarbonisation and green economic growth?

Did the member feel the same way when your Government released 10,000 prisoners 70 days early?

I most certainly do not think that it is a power grab by the Government. We could say that it is future planning. It is taking the prison population as a whole, which is what we need to do, and it is being done with careful research and risk assessment.

Throughcare services are vital. They provide a variety of supports, including access to health, mental health services, housing or benefits, employability support and making positive links within the community. The Scottish Government is working with public and third sector organisations to support prisoners who are on release. We are fortunate to be able to rely on such excellent third sector organisations in Scotland.

In an initiative of this kind, it is, of course, natural that concerns will arise from victims and their advocates. As we have heard, the Scottish Government is working with victim support organisations on key issues, such as ensuring clear information for victims through the victim notification scheme and safety planning. It is essential that victims have confidence in the safety of the community; that is a priority.

I will finish with a quote from the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research:

“We are not aware of empirical evidence (in Scotland or internationally) that this small change in the timing of release will have a significant adverse effect in terms of reoffending. Rather, the weight of criminological evidence suggests that risk of reoffending is much more likely to be affected by the condition in which people are released and the circumstances to which they are released.”

We are striking the right balance between recognising the concerns of victims and survivors while ensuring that measures have a significant impact on the prison population. I urge members to agree to the general principles of the bill.

Social care users across the country are, ultimately, at the heart of this discussion and they require our support and reassurance in light of the delay to the bill. Will the minister outline how the Scottish Government will engage directly with care users about the next steps in the process and how those care users will be supported in the meantime?

Will the member take an intervention?

Does the member acknowledge that, from October last year until July this year, the Conservative Government released 10,000 prisoners 70 days early without any parliamentary scrutiny, and that the current Labour Government is doing exactly the same thing?

There are far too many people in our prisons. That is an indisputable fact. This year alone, the prison population in Scotland has been around 8,300, and that is worryingly high. The pressure on the prison estate is simply unsustainable, and the alarming trajectory shows no sign of stopping.

We know that prisons are dangerous places. It is estimated that 8 per cent of the prison population are members of identified organised crime groups. Attacks on prison staff are soaring, and a high population always risks disorder in the prison estate.

This is not legislation that the Government would have wanted to bring to the chamber, but it is necessary and unavoidable. In common with England and Wales, we have reached crisis point with regard to the rising prison population, and doing nothing is simply not an option.

The exclusions have been made for very good and researched reasons, so it is really not for me to make that judgment, I am afraid.

Prisons must be able to function safely for the sake of the prisoners and, crucially, the hard-working prison staff, who do a more difficult job on a daily basis than I suspect that any of us in the chamber could imagine.

As we have heard, short-term prisoners—those serving sentences of less than four years—would have their automatic and unconditional release changed from the current 50 per cent of their sentence served to 40 per cent. The proposals would also apply to under-18s serving short-term periods of detention—under four years—in secure care establishments, commencing in February 2025. Crucially, as we have heard, the changes in the bill do not apply to those who are serving sentences for sexual offences or domestic abuse offences, or who are subject to non-harassment orders. I believe that that is absolutely correct. The unique nature of those offences would make it entirely unacceptable to include those people in the provisions. However, like Victim Support Scotland, I am disappointed that stalking is not included in the list of exclusions, as it would be in England and Wales, where it is considered a form of domestic abuse.

What effect will the change have? It is estimated that it could result in the prison population reducing by around 5 per cent, with around 260 to 390 prisoners being eligible for release. However, we should make no mistake about the fact that long-term action is necessary to deliver a sustained reduction to the prison population and support for the effective functioning of prisons.

What is the point of prison? Of course, it is to protect the public and those who are a danger to themselves, but, if rehabilitation and throughcare cannot take place because of an overwhelming population, it is worthless and dangerous.

Prisoners will be released at some time in their lives, and it is what happens in prisons during the time that they are incarcerated that really matters. Research shows that many people in the criminal justice system have experienced severe and multiple disadvantages, including homelessness, addiction, domestic violence and abuse. Further, far too many women are in prison or on remand—I agree with Rhoda Grant’s comments in that regard, and note the terrible repercussions for families.

If no rehabilitation and preparation for liberty has been undertaken, the people who we release will eventually return to prison through the revolving door. I believe that a focus on community-based interventions and sentences is much more effective in reducing reoffending than giving people short-term custodial sentences. The statistics back that up. The reconviction rate for those given community payback orders in 2018-19 was 29.8 per cent, compared with 52.1 per cent for those given custodial sentences of one year or less. That is why the Scottish Government is investing £148 million in community justice this year, which is an increase of £14 million.

Those who are released from a short-term sentence can access voluntary throughcare support either from third sector providers or the local authority. Throughcare services are vital. They provide a variety of supports, including assistance with accessing other services.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My vote went through, but my proxy vote did not.

Sure.