Scotland sets early release rules from 10 Nov 2025
Scotland has signed off new emergency rules for bringing forward some prison release dates. The Early Release of Prisoners (Scotland) Regulations 2025 were made on 6 November 2025 and take legal effect on Monday 10 November 2025 after approval by the Scottish Parliament. They apply to all prisons in Scotland, including young offenders institutions. The text is published on legislation.gov.uk and sets a final cut‑off for any release under this scheme of 30 April 2026.
Why now? Ministers say an emergency is affecting prisons and that acting is necessary and proportionate to protect security, good order, and the health, safety and welfare of people in custody and staff. The powers used sit in section 3C of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, which allows time‑limited early release in response to pressure on the system. Think of this as a safety valve: it shifts dates forward for a defined group without changing convictions or wiping sentences.
Who can be considered? You must be serving a sentence of less than four years and be due for release under section 1(1) or section 7(1)(a) of the 1993 Act within 180 days of specific reference dates set out in the regulations. You also have to be in custody on stated “snapshot” dates. Those snapshots are 20 October 2025, 15 December 2025, 30 January 2026, 27 February 2026 and 27 March 2026. For each snapshot there is a matching 180‑day window that determines whether you fall into a particular release batch.
If you were serving your sentence on 20 October 2025 and would normally be released within 180 days after 10 November 2025, your early release is grouped into three tranches. If your normal release falls within the first 60 days, you should be released between 11 and 13 November 2025. If it falls between day 61 and day 120, your window is 25 to 27 November 2025. If it falls between day 121 and day 180, your window is 9 to 11 December 2025. What this means for you: check your ordinary release date against those three windows and note the earlier slot that now applies.
If you were serving your sentence on 15 December 2025 and are due for release within the 180 days following 26 January 2026, your early release window is 27 to 29 January 2026. This is a short, fixed window at the start of the 180‑day period, so planning with a caseworker matters.
If you were serving your sentence on 30 January 2026 and are due for release within the 180 days following 23 February 2026, your early release window is 24 to 26 February 2026. The aim is to move a cluster of imminent releases forward by a few days to relieve pressure across the estate.
If you were serving your sentence on 27 February 2026 and are due for release within the 180 days following 23 March 2026, your early release window is 24 to 26 March 2026. Keep in mind that the underlying release type still applies: some people go out unconditionally; others go out on licence.
If you were serving your sentence on 27 March 2026 and are due for release within the 180 days following 27 April 2026, your early release window is 28 to 30 April 2026. The regulations also set a latest release date for the whole programme: no‑one can be released under these rules after 30 April 2026. If, for any reason, a person misses the scheduled dates, the prison must arrange release as soon as reasonably practicable, but still no later than that final date.
Who is excluded, even if they meet the timing rules? Anyone with an unspent conviction for a domestic abuse offence under section 1(1) of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 is excluded. So too is anyone with an unspent conviction for an offence aggravated by domestic abuse as described in section 1(1)(a) of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016, where the aggravation was formally recorded. People who are currently subject to a non‑harassment order under section 234A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 or under sections 8 or 8A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 are also excluded. Finally, anyone sentenced on or after 28 March 2026 is out of scope.
There is one important exception to the exclusions above. If you are only excluded because of a domestic abuse conviction and that conviction becomes “spent” before 30 April 2026, you should then be released as soon as reasonably practicable after it becomes spent, and in any case before the final date. A “spent” conviction is one that no longer needs to be disclosed for most purposes after a rehabilitation period under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
A quick note on the legal phrases you see in the regulations. “Released under section 1(1)” refers to automatic release for short‑term prisoners; this is unconditional unless other orders apply. “Released under section 7(1)(a)” refers to release on licence. If you leave under these emergency rules, you leave on the same basis you would have done anyway-unconditional or on licence-just earlier. The regulations also make clear that references to section 1(1) include its application to young offenders, so young offenders institutions are covered.
How to check what applies to you or your learner group. Match the snapshot date you were in custody with the 180‑day reference date set in the regulations, then find the release window shown above. Check whether any exclusion applies, including non‑harassment orders. If in doubt, speak to a solicitor or a Scottish Prison Service caseworker and read the full text on legislation.gov.uk for the exact wording. This explainer is for learning and planning; it’s not legal advice.
What this means for classrooms and community learning. These are time‑limited, rules‑based changes designed to prevent unsafe overcrowding while keeping key protections in place for people affected by domestic abuse. If you’re teaching law, social policy or criminology, use this as a live example of how primary law (the 1993 Act as amended in 2025) and secondary law (these 2025 Regulations) interact during an emergency. It’s a chance to practise reading timelines, eligibility rules, and exceptions with real‑world consequences.