Meaningful work should be provided in prison. There are a number of programmes available in Scottish prisons. For instance, the bicycle recycling charity, the Bike Station, now operates within four Scottish prisons. More should be done to provide training in skills for which there is a demand in the mainstream economy and which might lead to employment on release. HLS wishes to see more employers becoming involved in providing opportunities for those in custody and those leaving custody.

Every effort should be made to enable suitable prisoners to access further and higher education, including access to the Open University and to continue in the community on release any courses begun in prison.

The creative arts should be fostered in prison as they have a tranformational role to play in helping to build prisoners’ self-worth and learning of new skills.