New Petitions

That brings us to PE2171, lodged by Robert Macdonald, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to stop the use of prisons for punishment and deterrence and use them only for public protection purposes, in order to reduce the pressure on the Scottish Prison Service and allow more focus on rehabilitation, thereby ensuring that those who pose the greatest risk are jailed, whilst allowing those who pose less of a risk to be given community orders, fines and potentially lifelong driving bans.

The SPICe briefing explains that prisons hold remand prisoners and sentenced prisoners. Remand prisoners are awaiting trial or sentencing following conviction, while those in the second category are serving a custodial sentence. A Scottish Government paper published earlier this year concludes that there is

“no single reason for the increase in the prison population, and therefore no simple solution to manage and tackle the issue”.

The Scottish Government’s view on the ask of the petition is that, due to the complexity of the matter, it is not practical or achievable in the short term. However, the Government reiterates its long-term ambition to use prisons only for those who pose a risk of serious harm.

The response also pointed to various pieces of work that are aimed at shifting the balance between the use of custody and justice in the community. Most significantly, the sentencing and penal policy commission was established this year to establish the use and effectiveness of custodial sentences and community interventions. The commission is expected to make recommendations for dealing with offending behaviours in a way that is effective and proportionate, with the ultimate aim of ensuring the long-term sustainability of Scotland’s prison population.

Finally, the Government reiterated that courts continue to have discretion in determining the appropriate sentence for any given case, which may include a custodial sentence if that is deemed necessary.

Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?

I recommend that the committee closes the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders on the basis that, although the Scottish Government supports the broad aims of the petition, it considers that they can be achieved only in the long term. Furthermore, sentencing is a matter for the courts. Finally, the sentencing and penal policy commission is currently examining the effectiveness of sentencing and community interventions.

So, you support Mr Golden’s recommendations, Mr Ewing.

Are colleagues content to proceed on that basis?

Members indicated agreement.

We thank the petitioner for raising the issue and note that the Scottish Government supports the broad aims of the petition, and we also note the comments of colleagues. However, at this point, there is not anything that the petitions committee would be able to do to further advance the aims of the petition in the light of the submissions that we have received.