Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government takes the safety of the public very seriously. Sex offender notification requirements apply to an individual, irrespective of what name they use, and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements documentation includes the recording of any aliases. Sex offenders must inform the police of a name change within three days and failure to notify such a change can result in a prison sentence.

Last year, the Scottish Parliament agreed to a Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) which recommended that the sex offender management provisions contained in the UK Crime and Policing Bill be extended to Scotland.

The Crime and Policing Bill received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026; however, none of the sex offender management provisions have yet been commenced by the UK Government.

In relation to the name change provision, full implementation is dependent on matters reserved to the UK Government, specifically the making of regulations relating to driving licence applications in a new name.

As noted in the response to S6W-35658 on 2 April 2025, the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) have their annual accounts published on the Companies House website. These provide a breakdown of money received from the Scottish Government (currently available up to 31 March 2025). In the financial year 2025-2026, SYP received a total of £446,895 in Scottish Government funding.

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.

As part of the annual meeting between the Scottish Cabinet and children and young people, which took place in November 2025, the following ministers met with representatives of the Scottish Youth Parliament:

• the First Minister;
• all previous Cabinet Secretaries (with the exception of Miri McAllan, then Cabinet Secretary for Housing); and
• the previous Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise.

The previous Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills also met with representatives of the Scottish Youth Parliament (alongside representatives from Children's Parliament, Children in Scotland and Young Scot) in February 2026, as part of the Education Reform Project.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) helps to facilitate young people’s engagement in policy-making and, as such, SYP engages in activity with policy teams throughout the Scottish Government (including mental health, education reform, and children’s rights).

We do not hold information on the number of staff across all of the policy areas who are currently engaged in activity with SYP. However, there are 3 members of staff within the Children’s Rights Unit who spend at least some of their time liaising with SYP about the core finding that SYP receive from The Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing.

The safety of all those who live and work in Scotland’s prisons is a key priority for SPS and this government.

SPS has a range of measures in place to support the safety of people working in prisons. These include robust recruitment and vetting processes, close partnership working with Police Scotland, mandatory professional boundaries training for all Prison Officers and a comprehensive Anti-Corruption Policy. Staff are supported to identify and report concerns through confidential reporting processes, with all concerns thoroughly investigated.

SPS is also introducing Body Worn Video Cameras (BWVCs), with implementation currently being rolled out across all establishments. The use of BWVCs will help enhance the safe and secure running of prisons across the estate, supporting both staff safety and any criminal investigations where appropriate.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing.

The Scottish Prison Service reviewed its foundational training programme in 2025, informed by feedback from senior operational staff who had completed the programme. While the programme was found to have a number of strengths, opportunities were identified to further support officers transitioning into operational roles. In response, SPS is strengthening mentoring and work-based learning arrangements to help new officers apply their training effectively in practice.

The SPS continuously seeks feedback and seeks improvement in support of all training for those working in prisons.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing.

Resources currently available to prison officers include Trauma Informed Practice training, access to NHS Education for Scotland’s Developing Your Trauma Skilled Practice online modules, and trauma-informed practice content delivered through the Officer Foundation Programme. The costs associated with developing and delivering these resources are incorporated within the overall SPS training budget.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for the operation of prisons.

The information requested is not recorded by SPS.

As SPS continues to face significant overcrowding and population pressures, restricted regimes may be necessary at times to ensure the safe and effective operation of prisons.

SPS does not use fixed numerical thresholds when implementing restricted regimes. Decisions are taken locally, based on daily dynamic assessments of safety and operational capacity. Governors also consider the stability of the establishment and staffing levels to ensure that statutory rights and essential services are prioritised.

Where a full regime cannot be delivered safely, restrictions may be applied to purposeful activities to ensure that key legal entitlements, including access to open air, meals and visits, continue to be met.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing.

SPS has recruited record numbers of Prison Officers in recent years to support prison estate expansion, including HMP Stirling and HMP Kilmarnock, and address increasing prisoner numbers and complexity. Targeted attraction and engagement activities have also increased workforce diversity.

For 2025-26, the turnover rate across SPS was 7.7%, which represented a 1% reduction on the previous year (2024-25). SPS has also experienced a significant reduction in leavers from prison officer roles in the early part of this financial year in comparison to previous years.

SPS monitors staff retention through regular workforce planning discussions. The Workforce Planning Management Group reviews turnover trends, reasons for leaving, and actions to improve retention, informed by workforce data and employee feedback.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing:

SPS commissioned an independent review of organisational culture in November 2024 and, following a competitive tender exercise, appointed CROWE to undertake the review. During 2025, CROWE carried out site visits and engaged with staff, senior leaders and individuals in custody. SPS received the final report in March 2026. The report has been shared with senior leaders and engagement sessions are being undertaken to discuss the findings and recommendations ahead of its wider communication to staff and publication on our external website.