Rehabilitation helped 100 prisoners a month in Scottish jails.
By Lucy Ashton
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today urged the SNP government to explain how it will support rehabilitative measures in prisons, as he revealed that there are no plans to bring back the throughcare system that helped 100 prisoners a month move on and away from reoffending.
The throughcare service paired prisoners up with a support officer who helped them make arrangements for housing, medical provision and benefits, both before and after release.
The service was suspended “temporarily” in summer 2019, but Scottish Liberal Democrats subsequently revealed that it was never restarted.
 Now it has been revealed that there are no plans to bring the service back, with the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, Teresa Medhurst, stating that while the prison population continues to grow, “it is unlikely that SPS will be able to resume a Throughcare Support Service.”
Mr McArthur, above, said: “Our prison population is at worryingly high levels, but that should be the argument for, not against, throughcare. Support like this makes all the difference between a life rehabilitated, or a life of reoffending.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats have been warning for years about the impact of overcrowding. The response to date from Ministers, however, has made no difference. Indeed, the problems only appear to be getting worse.
“We are now seeing prison bosses making decisions they don’t want to make and third sector organisations are having to step in to plug the gaps.
“Our justice system needs to be able to strike the right balance between punishing, supporting and, crucially, rehabilitating. To do that, it needs to be properly funded.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see prisons used as an opportunity to provide new skills and a means of making a positive contribution upon release. That requires a basic standard of support and continuity both before and after an individual leaves prison.
“That’s the best way to keep communities safe.”
News of the temporary suspension in summer 2019 can be found here
The Scottish Liberal Democrats’ plan for improving rehabilitation in prisons is as follows:
- Reinvest savings made through reducing the prison population into community-based options, commit to 3-year funding rounds for criminal justice programmes, recognise the importance of council budgets given their role in rehabilitating people, conduct an audit of existing compulsory requirements to establish which are effective, and extend City Deals to allow innovative measures to build community resilience and tackle reoffending;
- Routinely record adverse childhood experiences, as recommended by Scottish Government advisor Sir Harry Burns;
- Give people on remand the opportunity to undertake short-courses, with the assurance that their engagement with purposeful activity does not imply guilt;
- Support people to keep their tenancies and other commitments where appropriate;
- Work through the NHS and Scottish Prison Service to fulfil the objectives of the 2011 joint memorandum of understanding on healthcare provision, alongside implementing a healthcare plan for people suffering ill health within 2 weeks of their entering prison, giving them the best chance for their health, especially mental health, to be improved upon release and get on in life;
- Make sure the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service begin fatal accident inquiries into deaths in prison within 12 months to ensure lessons that can save lives are learned;
- Island proof prisons’ policies, including the expansion of video conferencing for families;
- Support purposeful activity in prison to equip people for employment, including literacy and numeracy skills, accredited qualifications, and options aligned to shortages in employment, supported by occupational therapists;
- Make sure people have a bank account and have had their social security eligibility assessed before they leave prison, if relevant, for example through a fit to work assessment before release;
- Expand throughcare and mentoring, delivered by dedicated additional staff capable of working with people before and after they leave prison to provide continuity, alongside a new right to housing, welfare and healthcare appointments within 48 hours of release, underpinned by Housing First principles;
- Work with justice partners, to measure whether people achieve positive post-prison destinations such as education, employment or training, and to publish the results alongside existing reconviction rates, to provide an evidence basis for the future introduction of a youth-guarantee equivalent;
- Extend the Scottish Business Pledge to include a commitment to providing a level playing field for applicants who have completed a sentence.
The story was reported here
The written parliamentary question from Liam McArthur MSP was as follows:
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Make sure people have a bank account and have had their social security eligibility assessed before they leave prison, if relevant, for example through a fit to work assessment before release;