Meeting of the Parliament 25 June 2026 [Draft]
The first time that I was in Barlinnie, in 2008, as a case worker, I never imagined that, years on, I would be the local member of the Scottish Parliament, representing Barlinnie and overlooking justice policy. I have thoroughly enjoyed the first few weeks of Parliament, looking specifically at criminal justice and understanding better the context to how we have got to where we are.
In Scotland, we have roughly 177 prisoners per 100,000 of the population. Comparing that with our European neighbours—for example, the Netherlands, which has around 54 prisoners per 100,000—gives us an idea that the course that we have followed has not necessarily worked. What other countries such as the Netherlands and Finland have in common is that they took radical and bold action. That is exactly what the cabinet secretary is attempting to do.
Given that we are all policy makers, I hope that members have read the report of the Scottish sentencing and penal policy commission, which was published earlier this year, because many of the measures that the cabinet secretary has outlined are contained in that report. He is following the evidence and, as he does so, he deserves the support of the Parliament.
However, I raise challenges with the Scottish Government—particularly when it comes to remand, which other colleagues have raised. One in four prisoners in the prison system is on remand. Those prisoners have not been tried or convicted. The latest figures that I have seen suggest that 33 per cent of the population at HMP Barlinnie in Riddrie are on remand. As we pursue the measures that the cabinet secretary has outlined—I think that we should—my question for the Scottish Government is about having the wraparound support that will be required when people come out of the prison gate, which is my big concern.
From my experience early in the process of joining the Criminal Justice Committee, doing background reading and taking evidence from HM Inspectorate of Prisons in Scotland, it is clear that we need to set people up to succeed both when they are in the prison system and when they come out. That relates to things such as addiction support, health support and making sure that housing is in place. I hope that the cabinet secretary can count on his colleagues across Government to make sure that we mobilise every aspect of the state so that, when we come to the release measures, people do not come back into the system.
My final point is that, as a result of James Adams joining the Parliament today—I warmly welcome him and wish him every success for the five years that he is here—the majority of members are in this place for the first time. That gives us an opportunity to do things slightly differently, perhaps.
My plea to members is to follow the evidence, give the cabinet secretary our support as he tries to take things through and resist the temptation to do the shock-jock comments to the Daily Mail and the walking-and-talking videos outside the Parliament. We should follow the evidence and ensure that the policies that we implement mean that the prison population starts to fall, as it did in Finland and the Netherlands because they took bold and radical action, which is exactly what the Scottish Government proposes.