Transforming parole in Scotland: consultation

Why Are We Consulting?

The Programme for Government 2018-2019^[1] set out the Scottish Government's commitment to increase the openness and transparency of the parole system, and to consult on specific proposals.

The aim of this consultation is to seek your views on further reforms we are considering to improve the experience of victims in the parole process, increase openness and transparency of the Parole Board for Scotland ("the Parole Board") and ensure the independence of the Parole Board is maintained.

We wish to make further improvements to the parole process and the way the Parole Board operates. In particular, this consultation seeks views on how we can give victims a stronger voice in the parole process, how we can better support the Parole Board's decision-making and how to make the parole processes as open and transparent as possible. The consultation also seeks views on how we can further augment the Parole Board's independence, including seeking views on the option of transferring the Parole Board to the Scottish Tribunals (as created by the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014).

The proposals in this consultation document are underpinned by a continuing commitment to the key statutory role of the Parole Board in considering the release of a prisoner to serve the remainder of their sentence in the community, subject to appropriate licence conditions. In making these decisions, the Parole Board is independent of Scottish Government and impartial in its duties.

Consultation is an essential part of the policy-making process. We will consider the views expressed in response to this consultation to help inform the Scottish Government's decisions. An easy read summary of this consultation can be found at Annex A.