Question reference: S6W-04989
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 10 December 2021
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Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 December 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how convicted prisoners who identify as trans male or female are facilitated in the prison estate, and how many are currently held in each part of the prison estate, broken down by facility, prison or institution.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Decisions by the SPS as to the most appropriate location to accommodate transgender people are made on an individualised basis, informed by a multi-disciplinary assessment of both risk and need.
Such decisions seek to protect both the wellbeing and rights of the individual as well as the welfare and rights of others around them, including staff, in order to achieve an outcome that balances risks and promotes the safety of all.
As of 3 December 2021, there were 15 transgender individuals held across 10 prisons in Scotland. In order to avoid the potential indirect identification of individuals, it is not appropriate to disaggregate the data as requested.