Plans to release nearly 400 prisoners take step forward as Bill passes first vote

MSPs have agreed to the general principles of an emergency Bill to release hundreds of prisoners early, with Justice Secretary Angela Constance saying it is “critical” to ease overcrowding in prisons.

Holyrood passed the first stage of the expedited legislation on Thursday and it will return for a final vote on Tuesday.

Pressed on how many of the released prisoners are expected to reoffend, Ms Constance said there is no “crystal ball”.

SNP and Green MSPs have supported the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill, while the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats are opposed to it.

Under the plans, between 260 and 390 prisoners would be released by early February in three tranches over six weeks.

The Bill changes the automatic release point for sentences of four years or less from 50% to 40% of their term.

Those convicted of sexual or domestic violence offences would be excluded.

During the stage one debate on Thursday, Ms Constance said the prison population has been above 8,200 since September.

Crowded conditions have led to a reduction in purposeful activity for prisoners, she said, arguing sustainable action is needed to reduce the population.

Ms Constance said: “The changes made in this Bill are absolutely critical to relieve pressure on the prison estate and address the current crisis.”

She acknowledged that under a previous early release scheme in the summer, 57 of the 477 inmates who were freed ended up reoffending.

Asked what the “return rate” under the next release programme would be, she said: “In terms of the future, I’m not aware of much by way of data that projects or gives us a crystal ball.”

Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the Prison Officers Association had suggested there is a “perma-crisis”.

He accepted there are pressures in the system, but said: “This Bill and its principles are not the solution.

“Firstly because it betrays that there is still no strategy, just reactive panic.

“Last summer 477 prisoners were released early, but within weeks a significant number reoffended and were back inside.”

He said the SNP had increased the number of imprisonable offences without considering what impact they would have.

Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said her party would not support the Bill at stage one over concerns about the level of scrutiny allowed due to the emergency nature of the legislation.

Ms McNeill added the legislation would allow the Scottish Government to make amendments to the release points of prisoners through regulations, which can only be voted on by MSPs and not amended.

“It may be that we agree with some elements of the Government’s approach, but we will not have a say in the creation of the statutory instrument,” she said.

“It is the most objectionable aspect of the policy today and it is why we will be opposing the stage one (vote) tonight.

“I demand, as an elected member of this Parliament who came here to scrutinise, as a backbencher and a frontbench spokesperson, to have the right to have a say in how this power is exercised.”

Following the debate, MSPs backed the general principles of the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill by 69 votes to 49, with three abstentions.

Earlier this week, MSPs agreed to treat it as an emergency Bill, which means Holyrood can proceed through its three-stage legislative process in a single day – though in this case the process will go on for two sitting days.

MSPs voted on the Bill just hours after the First Minister clashed with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar in Holyrood.

At First Minister’s Questions, Mr Sarwar said John Swinney had his “head in the sand” and the Bill was a “desperate attempt to tackle a crisis created by the SNP”.