Question reference: S6W-25533
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 14 February 2024
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Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 February 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how many prison officers need to be recruited to ensure that all prisons are able to adhere to minimum staffing requirements.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
SPS has agreed prison officer staffing complements which are tailored to the needs of each establishment and agreed in partnership with the Prison Officers Association (Scotland).
On 2 February 2024 (the most recent data available), SPS had 59 prison officer vacancies across the prison estate, which is a 1.8% vacancy rate.