• Progression is the process by which prisoners move from more to less secure conditions within the prison estate and can gain access to the community in order to successfully transition from custody.
• In order for prisoners to ‘progress’ they must provide evidence that any risks that they pose can be safely managed in less secure conditions such as at National Top End (NTE) or in the Open Estate (OE).
• Prisoners should be supported to reintegrate into wider society, however, we have concerns around how the process often operates in practice. This chimes with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) describing progression as a “constant area of concern highlighted in our inspection reports”.
• Our view is that prisoners are often not able to progress appropriately through their sentence as a result of a lack of availability of, or capacity within, offending behaviour programmes. The programmes do not run at all establishments and progress can be disrupted by the need to transfer to an alternative prison. 
• Waiting lists are held at a national level and are often lengthy. A prisoner’s position on any programme waiting list is determined by proximity to his/her release date. 
• The dynamic element of the lists means that it can become akin to a game of ‘snakes and ladders’ and timescales are difficult to gauge. Some prisoners’ release is significantly stalled whilst waiting for a place to become available, whilst others can be released without having been able to access any programme/s. This can mean that people can end up having spent much longer in prison than they need to have. 
• A recent thematic review* of progression by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland concluded that the progression system is not working and that there is a need for the entire system to be reviewed.
• Completion of offending behaviour programmes can be over-emphasised in the determination of risk, with few alternative ways available to demonstrate progress and ultimately, suitability and preparedness for release.

* A Thematic Review of Prisoner Progression in Scottish Prisons - HMIPS (www.https://prisonsinspectoratescotland.gov.uk/)