25 February 2005
Concern about the impact of Scottish Prison Service budget cuts on rehabilitation has been voiced by a Scottish Parliament committee.
The justice committee was told that each prison had been asked to make 5% savings and, in a report published this week, it said this was affecting rehabilitation services.
During the committee's inquiry, ministers defended the funding levels, stating that 'sufficient resources are given for the current requirements'. They added that supporting an increased prison population involved either diverting money from other services or finding savings within the prison service.
The committee said it believed rehabilitation 'should not suffer from attempts to save money'.
It pointed out that the predominant view emerging from many who gave evidence was that little or nothing could be done with prisoners serving short periods of custody.
But the report added: 'The committee does not accept this view… Specifically, previous work carried out with offenders in the community should be capitalised on and continued in prison.'
PFfeb2005
