Prisons budget cut by almost £40m as alternatives get funding boost

Spending on Scottish prisons will face an almost £40m cut next year as alternatives to custody see their funding allocation increase.

Under the draft budget unveiled by Finance Secretary John Swinney, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) will see its budget drop from £396.2m to £357.2m in 2016-17.

The reduction, which will be felt primarily in capital funding, comes as an extra £4m has been directed to community justice services, up to £30.7m next year.

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Prison chiefs had been expecting a funding cut after the decision to abandon plans to build a new women’s prison in Inverclyde.

A quarter of the amount allocated for capital spending last year has been promised for next year, down from £40m this year to £10m next.

Expenditure on day-to-day operations will fall by £9m from £356.2m to £347.2m, equivalent to a 2.5 per cent cut. 

An end to automatic early release, which was passed by MSPs in June, could see prison numbers increase, though this will not arise until the end of this decade.

The budgetary announcement also comes on the same day a consultation on extending the presumption against short prison sentences closed.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The draft budget decisions for 2016/17 are consistent with the Scottish Government’s vision for penal reform policy.

"The change to SPS revenue funding reflects our commitment to continue to move the emphasis of penal policy from ineffective short-term prison sentences to community-based alternatives, whilst supporting the positive transformation within prisons towards increased emphasis on rehabilitation and effective reintegration.

"Funding for the community justice services will increase by £4m next year.

“The largest element of the reduction to the SPS budget is to capital funding. This reflects the profile of capital expenditure between years, including the decision not to proceed with a large new women’s prison.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service described the settlement as a “vote of confidence” given the financial backdrop against which the draft budget was unveiled.