Scottish prisons aren’t all inspected the way prisons in England & Wales are. HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) still carries out full inspections at some establishments, rating performance against nine Standards (from Good down to Unacceptable), but for most prisons it now monitors continuously through the year instead, using local volunteer Independent Prison Monitors (IPMs) who report their findings annually rather than through a single inspection visit.
HMIPS’s most recent monitoring report for HMP Addiewell covers 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, based on 82 visits and 341 IPM hours. The overall picture was positive – “the prison remained in a better place than the lows of a few years ago” – though the report notes the tragic deaths that occurred in November 2024 “had a significant impact on the prison”. Where activity was offered, monitors said “the offer was exceptional”, and the Recovery Café and staff with lived experience of addiction were praised, alongside an overall fall in violence compared with the year before.
Monitors continue to question whether the regime set out in the contract between SPS and operator Sodexo is in prisoners’ best interests, after prisoners were left unlocked on the halls for extended periods, and some on rules reported still not getting their legal entitlement to an hour’s fresh air. Healthcare improvements made earlier in the year largely stalled by the second half. Monitors did welcome plans to move the complaints system onto prisoner kiosks.
To read the full report, go to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland website or follow the link below:
- IPM Annual Monitoring Report (PDF), HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland, covering 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025