Scottish Government’s Draft Budget 2015-16

Scottish Government’s Draft Budget 2015-16

HLS have raised concerns that the government’s draft budget 2015-16 will increase funding for imprisonment and decrease community justice service budgets. The stark contrast in investment is clear as the central budget for community justice services is less than 10% of the budget for the Scottish Prison Service. Even taking into account the ring-fenced grant for Criminal Justice Social Work of £86.5m, which we note is also unchanged in cash terms, the total budget for community justice is still only one third that assigned to prisons.

We welcome the fact that the Scottish Government remains committed to the goal of reducing Scotland’s prison population. However, if the Scottish Government is serious about reserving prison for the most serious and dangerous offenders and making greater use of community-based disposals, it is hard to see how this will happen without a greater shift in resources from custody to community justice.

Justice Committee
Scottish Government’s Draft Budget 2015-16

 

Category Penal Policy

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