Anger as Scots jail inmates receive 7% pay increases

Published on Sunday 2 January 2011 15:19

THE wages of prisoners have risen more than 7 per cent since the beginning of the recession at the same time as services have had to be cut, taxes have gone up and many people have been forced to accept pay freezes, it has been revealed.

• Some prisoners have seen their weekly pay rise from 9.11 to 9.75

According to a freedom of information request the weekly wage for a prisoner has increased since 2006-07.

This means the total cost of the prisoners' work scheme in Scotland has gone from 2.5 million to 2.7m in just three years.

The increases have been described by opposition parties in Holyrood as an outrage at a time when law-abiding citizens are still suffering from the results of the economic crisis and the collapse of the banks.

Tory justice spokesman John Lamont said: "Many ordinary Scots will be rightly asking why, when so many workers have seen their wages frozen or cut, prisoners are bucking the trend and seeing their wages go up.

"The sums involved may be small, but many of these prisoners have been convicted of terrible crimes and to see their wage bill rise so quickly will be galling many of their victims."

The scheme has cost the taxpayer 24.5m in the past decade and even prisoners who do not actually work receive 4.80 a week as long as they register for the money. Others have been "rewarded" with a hike in their weekly pay from 9.11 to 9.75.

• Premium- Leader: Prisoners' pay rise gives poor view of political priorities

• Staffing review pledge after rioters set open prison alight

Richard Baker, Labour's justice spokesman, said: "This is the kind of soft touch approach to justice that we have become all too familiar with under the SNP. The same government that is telling public sector workers to accept a pay freeze is spending 2.7m on wages for prisoners. Kenny MacAskill needs to get a grip."

John O'Connell, research director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, added: "It's crucial that these payments are fair and are in keeping with the economic conditions.

"If taxpayers are struggling through an economic crisis then the prison service has to reflect this in payouts.

"With necessary cuts in public spending coming up, government departments must prioritise to ensure value for money for hard-pressed taxpayers."

The best paid prisoners are the ones who work in charity shops and receive 18 a week, while others who work in prison catering or go on educational and training courses get 12.

Inmates who are laundry workers, ground staff or cleaners get 9.

A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service defended wages paid to prisoners and said so far this year the average handout has fallen by nearly 2 per cent.

He added: "The payment prisoners receive is dependent on the work, education or training they are involved in. Work and improving employability through skills are widely accepted as important elements in tackling re-offending."

The row follows news that just before Christmas more than 200 prisoners were sent home from Scotland's two open prisons - Castle Huntly in Perthshire and Noranside in Angus.