Scottish Prison Design Capacity: FOI release

Information requested

• A list of which Scottish prisons are overcrowded
• A list of which Scottish prisons are not overcrowded

Response

‘Overcrowded’ is not a term formally used by the Scottish Government or the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) in relation to the occupancy levels or status of establishments. I have interpreted your request to be seeking a list of which prison establishments were operating above their Design Capacity and which were operating within their Design Capacity.

Please note operating above Design Capacity does not equate to ‘red risk status’. Based on the prison population on the date your request was received (25 April 2024), the tables below from SPS provide a snapshot of which establishments were operating above their Design Capacity and which were operating within their Design Capacity on that date.

Operating Within Design Capacity

Bella CCU

HMP Grampian

Lilias CCU

HMP Castle Huntly

HMP & YOI Polmont

HMP Stirling

Operating Above Design Capacity

HMP Addiewell

HMP Barlinnie

HMP Dumfries

HMP Edinburgh

HMP Glenochil

HMP Greenock

HMP Inverness

HMP Kilmarnock

HMP Low Moss

HMP Perth

HMP Shotts

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.