More than 2,000 prisoners on remand last month

Commenting on new figures which show that a quarter of the people locked up in Scotland’s jails were on remand in November 2025, with the overall prison population hitting its highest recorded level on 11th November, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said:

“With so many prisoners on remand, the pressure on our overstretched prison estate is only getting more severe.

“Overcrowding is making it extremely difficult to rehabilitate people, help them reintegrate into the community and cut the risk of reoffending.

“To tackle this, we need to drive down the use of remand, which will require the Scottish Government to invest in credible and robust community-based measures where that is appropriate.”