Scottish prison population tips over 8,000 as service criticised over 'human rights disgrace' for delays to replacing HMP Barlinnie

Bosses at the Scottish Prison Service say an increase in prison population is their biggest concern

Scotland’s prison population has topped 8,000 as delays to replace HMP Barlinnie are described as a “human rights disgrace”.

The Scottish Prison Service’s chief executive said the population of inmates had increased by almost an entire prison’s worth in the past year.

Theresa Medhurst told MSPs there were a number of financial pressures facing the service, including the increased cost of social care and a need to keep more prisoners separated for their safety.

HMP Barlinnie. Image: Andrew Milligan/Press Association.

She also conceded conditions in HMP Barlinnie were “pretty poor”, as Justice Secretary Angela Constance confirmed it will cost more than £400 million to replace the ageing Victorian prison.

Both Ms Medhurst and Gerry O’Donnell, the service’s interim finance director, were grilled by Holyrood’s criminal justice committee on Wednesday on their budgets when the increase in prisoner numbers was revealed.

Ms Medhurst said: “This calendar year alone we have seen an increase in population which equates to somewhere around the size of Perth prison, about 700. We did tip over 8,000 on Monday night into Tuesday this week.”

Although the number of inmates did reach more than 8,000 back in 2019, Ms Medurst said the population was more complex now than it was pre-pandemic.

She said: “There are added costs now with the increased cost of social care, and we have an increased need to keep people separate to keep them safe.

“These different population types all come with cost pressures and infrastructure pressures. There are challenges around our budget and our ability to live within our budget.

“Part of the challenge for us will be that the population is likely to rise, and that is difficult to predict.”

Ms Medhurst said part of the problem was a backlog in the courts system, which had resulted in more remand prisoners. Normally around 15 per cent of the prison population would be on remand - now it is “worryingly high” at 27 per cent.

Mr O’Donnell added pay settlements, increased utilities bills and the increase in the price of food are all adding to these financial pressures.

He told MSPs: “There has been a dramatic rise in food costs in the last two years, not just with the population increase, but our food prices have increased by 40 per cent over two years.”

The pair were also grilled on delays to replacing HMP Barlinnie by Labour MSP Pauline McNeil.

HMP Barlinnie opened in the Victorian era and a 2020 inspection found it was no longer fit for purpose.

In July the prison was at 140 per cent capacity and its governor Mick Stoney warned the prison can’t last much longer and there is a risk of “catastrophic failure”.

Ms McNeill said: “It is a human rights disgrace what prisoners are putting up with. I’m passionate about this because I’m a Glasgow MSP, but I am horrified that in west-central Scotland we have people on remand being sent to this prison.

“I am deeply concerned with what seems to be an eternity to build a prison - we’ve built loads of prisons before, so I cannot understand.”

Ms Medhurst said she “equally understands” the concerns about HMP Barlinnie and the “pretty poor conditions that people are living in”.

HMP Glasgow, which will eventually replace HMP Barlinnie, was originally meant to be built by November 2026 with an estimated price tag of £400m.

Now Scotland’s justice secretary has revealed it will now cost more than this estimate.

Earlier this week it was revealed these costs and timescales were removed from a spreadsheet of major infrastructure projects by the government, casting doubt on when the new super-prison, which will house 1,200 inmates, will open its doors.

A decision has now been taken to wait until the plans for the prison are finalised before costings and a potential timescale are announced - this is expected to be in April.

Previously the prison service had planned to begin construction before the final design was completed.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance told the committee: “It will cost more than £400m, I think I’m confident of that and as soon as we have clarity on the final design we will have clarity on costs, and I will endeavour to share that with the committee, because it is a matter of public interest.”

Ms Medhurst added part of the reason the design of HMP Glasgow is so difficult is because it is the biggest prison the service has ever built, and there are learnings from the coronavirus pandemic to take into account.

The announcement has been criticised by Russell Findlay MSP, the Scottish Conservatives’ justice spokesman, who said: “The justice secretary’s jaw-dropping admission that HMP Glasgow will cost more than £400m requires a full explanation.

“She still can’t say when this long-awaited prison might open.

“But we do know it is already four times over budget and will end up costing even more than the SNP ferries fiasco - joining a long list of key infrastructure projects marred by incompetence and squandered public money.”