Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what activities have been (a) stopped permanently, (b) suspended and (c) reduced as part of the Focused Day initiative by the Scottish Prison Service.
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Following constructive and collaborative discussions with our partners, SPS have moved away from the national concept of a ‘Focused Day’ and instead have introduced a Regime and Roster Review which is designed to ensure that staff are available to an establishment when and where needed the most.
It is our intent that any changes adopted as part of this review, will not compromise a person’s time out of cell or access to purposeful activity, therefore no activities have been stopped or suspended. Changes are expected to create a more consistent and reliable regime for those in our care whilst protecting opportunities to maintain family contact either through in person visits or via in-cell telephones.