Scottish prison makes progress but could be more ambitious, inspection finds

Scotland’s only prison for solely male inmates serving long term sentences has made positive progress but should be “more ambitious”, according to an inspection report.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) has published a report on a full inspection of HMP Shotts which was carried out in November 2025.

The inspection found that Scotland’s national prison for long-term adult male prisoners had made positive progress since its previous inspection in 2022.

Three standards, health and wellbeing, organisational effectiveness and opportunities for purposeful activity, have increased in ratings since the last inspection, with health and wellbeing improving from poor to generally acceptable.

HMIPS assessed that two standards, effective, courteous and human exercise of authority and respect, autonomy and protection against mistreatment, had dropped from being rated as satisfactory to generally acceptable.

The remaining standards were rated the same as the 2022 inspection.

The inspection also found the prison demonstrated strong staff-prisoner relationships across many areas of prison life and delivered several examples of innovative and effective practice.

HMP Shotts is Scotland’s only prison dedicated solely to long-term adult male prisoners and has a design capacity of 538.

The prison population at the time of inspection was 539 prisoners.

Due to the lack of overcrowding and a settled population the inspection report said Shotts was in a “stronger position than most other prisons in Scotland”.

It therefore concluded that the prison should be “more ambitious”.

Inspectors highlighted weaknesses in the management of prisoners subject to segregation in residential areas, inconsistent access to fresh air and shortcomings in support for foreign national prisoners.

There were also reported concerns about the effectiveness of anti-bullying arrangements, alongside some unwillingness to challenge inappropriate behaviour and some complacency around safety.

Alongside these concerns, prisoners reported having little confidence in the complaints system, with concerns about confidentiality, delays in responses and lost complaint forms.

The report also said care plans for those on the SPS suicide prevention strategy Talk to Me, and those being managed because they were under the influence of substances, were incomplete and not always reviewed by healthcare staff.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “We welcome the Chief Inspector’s report on HMP Shotts, which acknowledges the ‘respectful and positive’ staff and prisoner relationships, and progress made across several areas since their last inspection.

“It describes partnership work around recovery, wellbeing, and mental health as ‘a real strength’ with praise for the National Induction Centre, individualised support for neurodiverse prisoners, and the establishment’s ‘progressive’ approach to prisoner progression.

“It is also pleasing that they found that prisoners had consistently good access to time out of cell with ‘work, education, and recreational opportunities much improved’.”