Scotland’s billion-pound prison: SNP under fire after it is revealed cost of new jail has increased TENFOLD and cells will open years behind schedule

The SNP has been accused of wasting huge amounts of taxpayers’ money today after it was revealed a single new prison will cost almost a billion pounds.

HMP Glasgow will cost almost 10-times the original £100million estimate when it finally opens years late, the Scottish Government admitted.

The new facility will replace the 143-year-old Barlinnie jail, and will hold 1,344 prisoners, an increase of 357.

But it will cost an eye-watering £998.4million, some £742,000 per prisoner when it is full. 

The Scottish Conservatives have accused the SNP of ‘squandering taxpayers’ money on a scandalous scale’ and called for Justice Secretary Angela Constance to make a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the cost.

The party’s justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘The SNP are squandering taxpayers’ money on a scandalous scale and the public are going to pay a colossal price for the nationalists’ financial incompetence.

‘It is scarcely believable that the costs to replace Barlinnie are now set to hit nearly a billion pounds and that the new prison won’t be open for another three years.

‘That is a total dereliction of duty at a time when the SNP are about to release hundreds of dangerous prisoners due to their failure to invest in Scotland’s prison estate over 18 years in power.

HMP Glasgow will cost almost ten-times the original £100million estimate when it finally opens years late, the Scottish Government admitted.

The new facility will replace the 143-year-old Barlinnie jail, and will hold 1,344 prisoners, an increase of 357.

The Scottish Conservatives have accused the SNP of ‘squandering taxpayers’ money on a scandalous scale’ and called for Justice Secretary Angela Constance to make a statement to the Scottish Parliament on the cost.

‘Angela Constance must give an urgent explanation to Parliament as to why Glasgow’s new prison will now cost taxpayers 10 times more than first thought.’ 

The updated cost was part of a Scottish Government announcement that the construction contract for HMP Glasgow has been signed and it is expected to be built by 2028.

The new prison will replace Barlinnie on the outskirts of Glasgow, with the 143-year-old jail said to no longer be fit for purpose in the most recent report from HM Chief Inspector of Prison in Scotland, amid concerns about overcrowding.

The previous estimated delivery date for the prison was November 2026 at a cost of £400 million, itself up from the £100 million estimate made in 2014. 

Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said ‘This eye-watering increase is a symbol of the SNP government’s record of chaos, mismanagement and waste. This cost to the public purse is exacerbated by the 2-year delay.

‘Our Victorian prison estate is crumbling on the SNP’s watch and hundreds of prisoners are being set free to deal with overcrowding.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘The SNP are squandering taxpayers’ money on a scandalous scale and the public are going to pay a colossal price for the nationalists’ financial incompetence.’

‘We desperately need to modernise and replace our prisons and work within prisons to reduce reoffending.

‘The SNP must urgently explain why costs have spiralled out of control and pledge that there will be no more delays to this much-needed new prison.’

Ms Constance insisted the cost is comparable to similar projects elsewhere in the UK and had been affected by inflation caused by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said: ‘It is undoubtedly a very significant capital investment that will be made by the Scottish Government.

‘Earlier estimates were made prior to the site and the design, final design being completed, and it was also based on a much smaller prison.

‘Everybody will understand the devastating impacts on the construction industry in terms of price inflation for materials that have been a result of Covid and Brexit.

‘But there is no doubt about it, the best part of £1 billion investment is critical investment for the sustainability of our prison service going forward.’

She said the costs have been ‘extensively scrutinised’, with independent benchmarking analysis finding they are ‘comparable with similar prison projects elsewhere in the UK’.

The announcement comes as hundreds more prisoners are set to be released early in a bid to ease overcrowding in the country’s jails as a new law comes into force on February 11.

It will change the release point for those serving sentences of less than four years from 50 per  of their sentence to 40 per cent, however those convicted of domestic abuse or sexual offences will not be released early under the changes.

Up to 390 short-term prisoners who have served 40 per cent of their sentence will be released by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) in three tranches over six weeks.

Ms Constance said when HMP Glasgow is ready, it will ‘put us on a stronger footing in terms of tackling the prison population’.

However she stressed Scotland cannot ‘build our way out of our very high prison population’ and other measures must be taken to lower it, such as investing in ‘robust community justice’.