Chamber and committees

The judgement has been issued in the litigation brought by For Women Scotland in relation to the Scottish Prison Service’s policy on the management of transgender people in custody. The Scottish Government has carefully considered the judgment and has decided not to appeal.

The Scottish Prison Service is considering the implications of the judgement and has withdrawn the previous policy while that work is undertaken.

During the course of the litigation, it was appropriate that matters relating to the case were addressed through the court process. The proceedings are still live pending the final procedural steps being taken and the Scottish Government will focus on implementing the judgment in accordance with the law.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with a wide range of organisations and stakeholders on issues relating to equality, justice and human rights. As with any stakeholder, any request for a meeting, made after the court proceedings are fully concluded, would be considered in the usual way.

I have asked Linda Pollock, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS do not directly capture this information, any formal diagnosis and/or data may be recorded by NHS, as since 2011 healthcare within our prisons has been the responsibility of NHS since 2011. SPS do however recognise the importance of supporting neurodivergence within our population, and our officers are well experienced in supporting a range of needs including neurodivergence within our prisons.

SPS processes on admission help identify individual needs, however they do rely on the individual to self-declare. Additionally, our learning provider, PeoplePlus, carry out initial screening to determine additional needs or supports which will feed into the catalogue of support offered to the individual either through, NHS, education or more generally within the prison setting.

In line with the requirements of Section 16 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, the Scottish Government discloses to the Scottish Parliament the number and total cost of employing special advisers on an annual basis. The latest report, pertaining to the financial year 2025-26, was published on 7 July 2026. I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01557 on 7 July 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government has had no specific discussions with the UK Government regarding extending eligibility for the Youth Guarantee or the Jobs Guarantee to unemployed people aged over 24.

Employment support is a shared area of interest across reserved and devolved responsibilities, and Scottish Government officials engage regularly with UK Government counterparts on labour market issues and employability policy.

The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering a joined-up, person-centred employability system that supports people of all ages to progress towards and into fair, sustainable work. Through No One Left Behind, local authorities and delivery partners are empowered to provide tailored support that responds to individual circumstances, strengths and ambitions, including for people aged 25 and over who face barriers to entering, re-entering or progressing in the labour market.

The Scottish Government and relevant agencies have issued a response to the Committee and this is available on their website: https://rm.coe.int/48802c60f5.

We have already taken a number of decisive steps to help alleviate populational pressures and optimise the capacity of the existing prison estate. On 25 June, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced: Achieving a Sustainable Prison Population: Justice Secretary's speech - gov.scot the launch of a consultation: Prison population and penal reform - working towards a sustainable prison population: consultation - gov.scot that seeks views on a set of proposed reforms to the criminal justice system in Scotland, building on the recommendations of the Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission, Scottish Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission report: Justice That Works - gov.scot that will help to deliver a lasting and sustainable approach.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The data held by Scottish Government (SG) on individuals held on remand is taken from the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Prisoner Records System. SG do publish information on the number of departures from the remand population and the number of transitions from the remand population into the sentenced population in each financial year here: Supporting documents - Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2024-25 - gov.scot. However, this indicates prisoner movement rather than the outcome of the case/s individuals are involved in. Prisoner records do not contain information on the outcomes of court cases.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01503 on 17 July 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

We are engaging constructively with all relevant stakeholders to support considered and informed discussion on this policy, and to ensure effective implementation that delivers on our core aim of making the weekly shop more affordable.

The Scottish Government’s Criminal Proceedings in Scotland database does not hold information on the specific type of watercraft involved in charges prosecuted under Loch Lomond Byelaws.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service were able to manually search relevant case records and confirmed that as of 8 July 2026 the previous position (as outlined in the answer to S6W-15977 on 28 March 2023) remains. Specifically, a total of three people have been prosecuted for offences involving a jet ski under Loch Lomond Byelaws 2013 B3.5(1)&3.17 - Knowingly/recklessly/negligently navigate and behaviour of vessel (where vessel involved is a jet ski). Of these, one was convicted. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.