Hansard

Much has already been said about this short bill, so I will try not to repeat too much. I think that we all agree that ending automatic early release is, in itself, a good thing. The Justice Committee, with the exception of Margaret Mitchell, agreed with the general principles of the bill.

Members will recall that at the committee stage the bill dealt with certain categories of long-term prisoner. As amended, it deals with all long-term prisoners—those who are serving four years or more. We are not talking about short-term prison sentences, so those are irrelevant in discussion of the bill. One might ask why we do not end automatic release for all, but that is not the purpose of the bill, and there are practical constraints. In order to deal with that issue, we know that we have to have more prisoner places and more post-custody support, and—as the cabinet secretary made plain in his evidence to the committee—we have to be looking at a change of culture to having alternatives to short-term custodial sentences. We know that those sentences simply do not work and that there is a revolving door with people going in and out of prison.

I hope that the announcement about how we are to deal with women offenders heralds how we will deal with young offenders and others, in terms of looking at the whole set of circumstances that lead some people—though not all—to find themselves in the penal system with a drug or alcohol habit.

For long-term prisoners, one thing that the committee was quite rightly concerned about was cold release. Therefore we welcome the stage 2 extension of the bill’s provisions to all prisoners serving four years or more. We also asked that the six-month period be made part of the custodial sentence: that is what has happened. The sentence continues, but there is a bridge, as it were, from rehabilitation programmes in prison to when the person is out of prison.

Although nothing is perfect in this world, in evidence we were told that it is during the early weeks of a prisoner’s release—in fact, the early hours and days—that the person is vulnerable to going back into old habits with old gangs that they knew.

Elaine Murray’s amendment is complicated. We did not take evidence on fractions of sentences, so I do not think that the amendment would have taken us forward. At least we know where we are with six months; six months is the mandatory period, but that does not mean that nothing will continue thereafter.

That will also link into the Community Justice (Scotland) Bill, and that is where we see the larger picture. There is £100 million going into community justice to look at how we handle community sentences and people once they are released from prison. We know that prison does not work for most people. Obviously there are people who should be kept in prison and away from others because they are a danger to society, but for many people prison simply does not work.

Section 2 contains a provision that will be lost if the bill is voted down, which concerns the timing of release to benefit reintegration. We all know—as others have said—that releasing a prisoner on a Friday is bad. Everything is closed, the person is left to meet their old cronies, they have no money, they have no social security and they have no home. They have nothing. Members who vote against the bill tonight are voting against the flexibility that will enable prisoners to be released earlier, up to two days before their release date.

The bill gives clarity to victims. Somebody who is sentenced to six years will do five years and six months and will then have six months supervision in the community. Everyone will know where they are with the provisions in the bill. Of course, the bill is not perfect, but I do not know any piece of legislation that has been passed by this Parliament that is perfect. The Government’s endeavours are a start; it is trying to ensure that there is continuity of rehabilitation from within the prison to outwith the prison, we hope with the same people involved. I know that Colin McConnell, the chief executive of the SPS, has made it plain that that is his goal.

I want to ask about the commencement of the provisions. Section 3(2) says:

“The other provisions of this Act come into force on such day as the Scottish Ministers may by order appoint.”

If the bill is passed tonight, we are talking about prisoners being released at different times, with six months’ supervision, so I would like to have some idea about when the provisions will come into force.

I am not sure whether Labour is abstaining or voting against the bill. Either would be a bad move. If Labour members were to be successful in stopping the bill, they would be stopping prisoners having supervision when they require it and they would also be stopping people being released at a time when they have some chance of making a better start.