Scotland starts early prisoner release on 10 Nov

Scotland starts early prisoner release on 10 November 2025. Ministers signed the Early Release of Prisoners (Scotland) Regulations 2025 on 6 November 2025 after approval by the Scottish Parliament. The government says the step responds to an emergency affecting prisons and is needed to protect security, good order, and the health, safety and welfare of people in custody and staff.

The rules apply to every prison and young offenders institution in Scotland. The final cut‑off for any release under this scheme is 30 April 2026. We have taken all dates and definitions from the official text on legislation.gov.uk so you can cross‑check the detail if you need to.

Who can be considered is narrow and time‑limited. You must be serving a sentence of less than four years, you must have been in custody on specific checkpoint dates, and you must already be due for release under sections 1(1) or 7(1)(a) of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 within 180 days of the round you fall into. In short, this is a bring‑forward for people already nearing their standard release.

Here is how the first round works in plain English. If you were in custody on 20 October 2025 and your normal release date falls within 180 days after the regulations begin on 10 November, you move into a release window based on how close that date is. If you are within 60 days, you are scheduled for 11–13 November 2025; if you are between 60 and 120 days, you are scheduled for 25–27 November 2025; if you are between 120 and 180 days, you are scheduled for 9–11 December 2025.

Four further rounds then run in early 2026 to manage people whose normal dates sit later in the year. If you are in custody on 15 December 2025 and due within 180 days after 26 January 2026, you are scheduled for 27–29 January 2026. If you are in custody on 30 January 2026 and due within 180 days after 23 February 2026, you are scheduled for 24–26 February 2026. If you are in custody on 27 February 2026 and due within 180 days after 23 March 2026, you are scheduled for 24–26 March 2026. If you are in custody on 27 March 2026 and due within 180 days after 27 April 2026, you are scheduled for 28–30 April 2026.

Important protections sit alongside the bring‑forward. People are excluded if they have an unspent conviction for an offence aggravated by domestic abuse (as defined in the 2016 Act) or for the standalone offence under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018. Also excluded are people who are currently subject to a non‑harassment order, and anyone sentenced on or after 28 March 2026.

There is a limited route back in. If someone is excluded because a domestic abuse conviction is not yet spent, but it becomes spent before 30 April 2026, they must then be released as soon as reasonably practicable, and still by the scheme’s final cut‑off.

If operational pressures mean a person cannot be freed on the exact dates listed for their round, the regulation requires release as soon as reasonably practicable, again no later than 30 April 2026. That clause is there to keep the timetable firm while recognising the realities of prison operations.

Worked example one for students: your normal release date is 5 December 2025, you were in custody on 20 October, your sentence is under four years, and you are not excluded. Because 5 December falls within 60 days of 10 November, you would be released between 11 and 13 November 2025.

Worked example two for teachers to use in class: a person’s normal date is 10 March 2026 and they were in custody on 30 January 2026. That date sits within 60 days after 23 February 2026, so the early release window for them would be 24–26 February 2026, subject to the same checks.

A quick glossary helps decode the legal language. ‘Unspent’ means a conviction has not yet become ‘spent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, so it still counts for legal decisions. A ‘non‑harassment order’ is a court order that restricts someone from contacting or approaching a person to prevent harassment. ‘Conditional release’ under section 7(1)(a) means release on licence, with rules to follow; section 1(1) is unconditional release at the normal end point.

For transparency, this explainer draws directly on the Early Release of Prisoners (Scotland) Regulations 2025 as published on legislation.gov.uk. The instrument was approved by the Scottish Parliament before Ministers signed it at St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh, on 6 November 2025, with Angela Constance listed as the signatory for the Government.