Ministers abandon plans for replacement women's prison

The Scottish Government has dropped its plan to build a new women's prison near Greenock, Justice Secretary Michael Matheson confirmed today.

Criticism had been growing of the proposal to build a 350-bed facility to replace Cornton Vale, the prison which currently houses many of Scotland's female inmates, the closure of which was recommended in a report by the former Lord Advocate, Dame Elish Angiolini QC. Dame Elish described Cornton Vale as "not fit for purpose" and the new prison had been intended to replace it by 2018.

Appointed in November by Nicola Sturgeon after she became First Minister, Mr Matheson said today that the Inverclyde plans did not fit with his vision of how to address female offending and Scotland needed "to take a more radical and ambitious approach".

Visiting the pioneering "218" centre in Glasgow, which works to rehabilitate women offenders with chaotic lifestyles, he added that smaller regional and community-based custodial facilities across the country "would be more closely aligned with the vision set out by Dame Elish". 

Whilst it was for the courts to decide who received a custodial sentence, he believed that too many low level female offenders were sent to prison and a new approach was needed to help them turn their lives around.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Prison Service will now undertake a period of extensive engagement to further this aim, along with looking at international models of best practice. Funding is already being provided for a number of smaller projects around the country.

Ministers will also consider whether there is scope for a smaller facility within the prison estate for the low number of serious female offenders who pose a risk to the community and are given long-term prison sentences.

Mr Matheson commented: "Dame Elish Angiolini QC made a number of important recommendations, recognising that female offenders have very different needs to their male counterparts and require very specific support.

“We know that women offenders are far less likely to be a danger to the public compared with men. We also know that the families and children of female offenders are more likely to go off the rails and offend themselves if mothers are jailed miles away from home. This turns into a vicious circle, affecting future generations, and is doing nothing to address reoffending."

He continued: “We need to ensure that links to the family and community can be maintained, whilst targeted work is undertaken to address the specific issue which is fuelling the crime such as alcohol, drugs or mental health issues.

“The 218 centre in Glasgow which I visited today provides exactly the type of sophisticated approach that I would like to see as part of our plans for the way in which we look after women in custody."

Welcoming the news, John Scott QC, convener of the prison reform charity Howard League Scotland, said: "It is a bold decision and will be recognised as such by all those who have voiced their concerns about HMP Inverclyde. In deciding not to proceed with the proposal to build a new women’s prison at Inverclyde, the Cabinet Secretary is opening up the potential for greater use of community-based solutions for women who offend and women who are at risk of offending. This will benefit all of us. By dealing appropriately and effectively with this vulnerable group of women, Scotland will be a safer place.

“The 2012 report of the Commission on Women Offenders was clear that most women in prison in Scotland today have 'complex needs that relate to their social circumstances, previous histories of abuse and mental health and addiction problems'. The report stated unequivocally that most women who have offended do not need to be in prison and that the impact of imprisonment on women and their families is often catastrophic."

He added: “We commend the hard work carried out by those in the Scottish Prison Service who have been working on the design of the new prison. We hope that the learning derived from this process can be put to good use in a smaller custodial unit which will house the small number of women in Scotland serving long-term sentences and who need to be in prison for reasons of public protection."