Labour accuse SNP of making ‘no progress’ as report finds Scottish Government missed pledge on community justice

By Alexander Brown
Published 15th Jul 2021, 04:55 BST
Labour have accused the SNP of making “no progress” after a report found the Scottish Government had missed its pledge on community justice.

Ministers had long promised to move justice away from incarceration and increase the use of community sentences such as community payback orders, drug programmes or electronic monitoring.

However, a report from Audit Scotland has now found community sentences have stagnated over the past three years, with the country having one of the highest incarceration rates in Western Europe.

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Five per cent of sentences handed down by courts – excluding fines – in 2016/17 were community sentences, dropping to 56 per cent the following year before returning to 59 per cent in 2019/20.

A Scottish Government pledge on community justice has not been achieved, Audit Scotland has said.A Scottish Government pledge on community justice has not been achieved, Audit Scotland has said.
A Scottish Government pledge on community justice has not been achieved, Audit Scotland has said.

Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said “This report should be a wake-up call for the Scottish Government and all those committed to improving our justice system.

“It has been five years since the Parliament agreed this important law, but it seems the SNP have made no progress towards making it a reality.

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