Ministers set out justice programme through to 2026

A programme of reforms through to March 2026 has been set out in the Scottish Government's Vision for Justice Delivery Plan, published today.

The reforms build on progress since the Government published its Vision for Justice in 2022, which outlined a strategy to modernise the justice sector. The actions align with the work required to meet the commitments set out in the 2023-24 Programme for Government.

Reforms in the Delivery Plan include:

• the introduction of a Misogyny Bill to create new offences related to misogynistic conduct;
• continued modernisation of the prison estate, including opening HMP Highland and starting building work on HMP Glasgow to replace Barlinnie;
• the national rollout of a system to digitally transform how evidence is managed across the justice sector, supporting quicker resolution of cases;
• expanding the availability of mediation services in civil disputes.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance commented: "The Vision sets out our transformative vision for the justice sector, and this updated delivery plan, which has been approved by our justice partners, shows the significant process that has been made so far.

"This includes the introduction of the Victims, Witnesses and Criminal Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill – which, if passed, will put victims and witnesses right at the heart of the justice system, and the creation of Bairns’ Hoose test sites to ensure a range of trauma-informed support is available to child victims and witnesses of abuse and harm.

"At the heart of all this work is our determination to build a trauma-informed and person-centred justice system in which individuals and communities can trust."