McArthur raises concerns as prison population increases again

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today called on the Scottish Government to urgently drive down the use of remand and invest in credible community orders after new figures showed an increase in the prison population.

In June 2025 (up until the morning of Tuesday 1st July 2025):

• the population increased by 96 to 8,202

• 2,094 were on remand: 1,722 (21%) untried & 372 (5%) awaiting sentence. 6,108 (74%) were serving a sentence.

• 58% of arrivals were untried (546 of 934), 19% awaiting sentence (177) and 23% sentenced (211)

• Among the 2,094 people on remand as of the morning of Tuesday 1st July 2025, the median continuous time spent with this status to date was 75 days.

Earlier this year, new research found that the number of deaths in Scotland’s prisons has increased by 60% in the past year. Scotland’s prison mortality rate is now among the highest in Europe.

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request to the Scottish Prison Service recently revealed that the average cost per prisoner place in 2023/24 was £47,140 or £129.15 per day, up from £37,334 or £102.28 per day in 2016/17.

On prison population projections, Mr McArthur said:

“These figures show Scottish prisons are still full to bursting.

“When prisons are overflowing, it is harder for staff to maintain order and harder to steer prisoners away from future reoffending.

“There are far too many prisoners being held in prison who have not yet been convicted of anything.

“Robust community-based measures are a key part of the solution to prison overcrowding. They can ease pressure on the system and ensure people get a credible alternative to prison time. The Scottish Government must do more to improve enforcement of these orders.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see a modern prison estate that strikes the correct balance between punishing, rehabilitating and reducing reoffending. To achieve that, the government must get serious about clearing court backlogs, giving staff the resources they need and driving down the use of remand.”