Question reference: S1W-01642
- Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 21 September 1999
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Current status: Answered by Angus MacKay on 23 September 1999
Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take to halve the female prison population by the end of the year 2000.
Answer
Sentencing decisions rest with the courts but we do support the aim of reducing prison numbers. That is why we have accepted in principle the recommendations contained in A Safer Way, the joint Prisons and Social Work report which reviewed community disposals and the use of custody for women offenders in Scotland, and why an inter-agency forum, chaired by Professor Sheila McLean, was set up to consider the issues raised by the review.