Cost per prisoner place hits £47,000 per year

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur has called on the Scottish Government to drive down the use of remand as new figures revealed that the cost of a prison place has risen by more than £10,000 per year since 2017.

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request to the Scottish Prison Service has revealed that the average cost per prisoner place in 2023/24 was £47,140 or £129.15 per day, up from £37,334 or £102.28 per day in 2016/17.

The average daily prison population in Scotland was 7,860 in 2023/24. This is an increase of almost 6% from 2022/23. The overall average daily remand population remained stable in 2023/24 at 1,796, 23% of the total.

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said:

“Scotland's prisons are not serving prisoners, prison staff or the wider community well. Far too many prisoners are on remand, violent assaults are commonplace and cells are bursting at the seams.

“We know that remand is severely disruptive to employment and the type of family links that are so important if we are to break the cycle of reoffending.

“These figures also show that it’s incredibly expensive too.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want see a properly-funded justice system that can deliver robust and credible community sentences where appropriate.

“We also need a modern prison estate that can strike a balance between punishing, rehabilitating and supporting; that is how we will reduce reoffending and make communities safer.”