Scotland sets early prisoner release dates 2025–26
Scotland has approved emergency rules to bring some release dates forward for short sentences, to ease pressure on the prison estate. The Early Release of Prisoners (Scotland) Regulations 2025 were made on 6 November and take legal effect on Monday 10 November 2025. They apply to every prison and young offenders institution in Scotland.
This isn’t a blanket amnesty. You’re in scope only if you are serving less than four years and you are already due for release under existing law within roughly six months. In legal terms, that means you’re due under section 1(1) or section 7(1)(a) of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993. In simple English, section 1(1) covers the usual automatic release point for short sentences, and section 7(1)(a) covers release on licence for certain cases.
The Regulations set three initial release windows. If your normal lawful release date falls within 60 days of 10 November, your release will take place between 11 and 13 November 2025. If it falls between 61 and 120 days after 10 November, your window is 25 to 27 November. If it falls between 121 and 180 days, the window is 9 to 11 December 2025.
The pattern then repeats into 2026. People due within 180 days of 26 January 2026 are released between 27 and 29 January. Those due within 180 days of 23 February 2026 are released between 24 and 26 February. Those due within 180 days of 23 March 2026 are released between 24 and 26 March. The final window is 28 to 30 April 2026 for those due within 180 days of 27 April 2026.
If someone who qualifies is not released on the exact dates set out above, the fallback rule is that they must be released as soon as reasonably practicable. There is also a hard stop: the latest date anyone can be released under these Regulations is 30 April 2026. That cut‑off is written into the law as the “latest release date”.
Safety exclusions are built in. A person with an unspent conviction for a domestic abuse offence does not benefit at the point their cohort would otherwise be released. This covers offences aggravated by domestic abuse under the 2016 Act and the specific offence under section 1(1) of the 2018 Act. Anyone who is the subject of a non‑harassment order also does not benefit. And anyone sentenced on or after 28 March 2026 is outside the scheme altogether.
One detail matters for fairness. A “spent conviction” is one that has passed its rehabilitation period under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. If someone was excluded because a domestic abuse conviction was still unspent, but it becomes spent before 30 April 2026, the prison must release them as soon as reasonably practicable after that date-still no later than the latest release date.
If you’re teaching this, here’s the plain‑English read of the cross‑references. Section 1(1) of the 1993 Act is the automatic release point for short‑term sentences, now generally at two‑fifths of the term except for domestic abuse and certain sexual offences, which remain at one‑half. Section 7(1)(a) is release on licence in other cases. The Regulations sit on top of those rules to move forward dates for people who would be leaving soon anyway.
Ministers can make these emergency rules using section 3C of the 1993 Act when an emergency is affecting prisons and the safety of people in them. The instrument was approved by the Scottish Parliament and signed by Justice Secretary Angela Constance at St Andrew’s House on 6 November 2025. It covers all prisons and young offenders institutions across Scotland.
What does this mean for families and for victims? Early release brings dates forward by days or weeks; it does not wipe away licence conditions where those apply. If someone would normally leave on licence under section 7, their licence still follows them in the community. Non‑harassment orders continue to protect named people and, as noted, prevent early release while the order is in force.
If you’re checking eligibility for a learner case study, start with four questions. Is the sentence under four years? Was the person in custody on the reference date for their cohort? Is their normal release date within 180 days of the check date? Do any exclusions apply, including an unspent domestic abuse conviction or a current non‑harassment order? If all answers line up, the relevant window above shows when release should occur.
For study notes and source‑checking, read the Regulations as published on legislation.gov.uk, then look at the 2025 Act that changed the basic release fractions and the definitions in the 2016 and 2018 domestic abuse laws. This gives a tidy classroom set: the rule, the timeline, the exclusions, and the rights and obligations that still apply after release.