On 14 November 2023, the Scottish Government published its Prison Population Projections for the six month period from October 2023 to March 2024. The projected population range is between 7,500 and 8,650. It followed receipt of a letter that the Prison Governors' Association had sent to the Scottish Parliament's Criminal Justice Committee in which its Chair, Natalie Beal, wrote: “If we continue this path, we are at best providing humane containment, albeit even this may be at a stretch, with many prisons already operating restricted regimes, resulting in the provision of little or no positive rehabilitative work”.

On 13 September 2023, HMIPS published its Annual Report 2022-23. It included frustration at the need for oft-repeated concerns around over-crowding; the poor condition of the prison estate; deaths in custody; staffing levels impacting the daily regime; and lack of access to healthcare, especially mental health support. It also noted that “despite lifting of restrictions Scottish prisons have not as yet managed to return to pre-pandemic activity levels”. It referenced a new inspection framework for the women's community custody units (CCUs), although no other details appear to be available on this.