Scottish prisoners 'harmed' as food prices outstrip stagnant inmate wages
Some inmates are sharing cells meant for one person, while families are also shouldering the burden of the cost of living crisis as they supplement prisoners' low earnings.
Monday 25 November 2024 12:02, UK
Prisoners in Scotland are being "harmed" by the cost of living crisis as inmate wages fail to keep pace with the rising costs of goods and food, according to a new report.
Overcrowding also means some prisoners are sharing cells meant for one person.
The concerns were highlighted in the mid-year Independent Prison Monitoring (IPM) report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland (HMCIPS), Stephen Sandham.
He said the cost of living crisis "not only harms prisoners" but places a burden on families, who often have to supplement earnings.
"IPMs (independent prison monitors) are also concerned that the SPS is not adequately funded to provide three healthy meals per day per prisoner."
The report said there remains a "significant concern" about the remand prison population, which continues to be "stubbornly high".
The inspectorate said the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) estate is "not equipped to deal with this rising population".
It added: "IPMs note that it is unconscionable that in 2024 two prisoners are being held in cells designed for one in many prisons across the Scottish prison estate."
The report also found prisoners were often locked in their cells for too long without access to rehabilitative activities, and said many were unable to access offending behaviour programmes in a timely manner.
Almost 500 prisoners were let out early in four tranches over the summer, with the Scottish government hoping to release hundreds more in the new year.
The Scottish government is aiming to pass the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill - which was lodged in Holyrood last week - under emergency procedures.
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The report asked the SPS and the Scottish government to "urgently look" at the resources available to prisons to end the overpopulation problem and "end the cycle of crime and imprisonment that blights so many lives".
Inmates were also said to "lack faith" in the SPS prisoner complaints system, which the report said should be reviewed "as a matter of urgency".
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Positively, the inspectorate praised the increase in the number of volunteers and an overall improvement in the monitoring of prisons.
The report said staff act with "compassion and humanity" and that prison activities "provided a real opportunity for prisoners to start a journey away from crime".
A spokesperson for the SPS said: "Our staff work hard to support people in their rehabilitative journey, to prepare them for release, reduce the risk of reoffending, and help build safer communities, but this is made significantly more difficult due to the high levels of overcrowding we continue to see."
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Justice Secretary Angela Constance welcomed the report and how it "observed good practice in prisons".
She added: "I note the inspectorate welcomes the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill currently before the Scottish parliament as an important step in reducing the current pressures in the prison system.
"If passed it will add to a raft of other measures that we have taken to address the rising and complex prison population.
"We have also increased the SPS resource budget by 10% to £436.5m in 2024/25 to enable it to continue to provide a safe and secure estate."