Scottish Ministers have made the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 and the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Act 2025 (Consequential Modifications) Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/4). The instrument was made on 8 January 2026, approved by the Scottish Parliament under the affirmative procedure, and comes into force on 16 January 2026. It was signed by Angela Constance on behalf of the Scottish Government.
The Regulations update schedule 6 of the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007, which inserts transitory sections 9A, 9B and 9C into the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993. The purpose is to align those transitory provisions with amendments made by the 2019 and 2025 Acts to the 1993 Act.
The Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Act 2025 removed the uniform halfway automatic release rule for most short‑term prisoners. Automatic release is now determined by offence, with entitlement calculated under Part 1 of the 1993 Act. SSI 2026/4 therefore replaces outdated references to the halfway point with references to the new offence‑based entitlement to release.
Section 9B(1) (as treated as inserted by the 2007 Act) is amended so that the early‑removal window is counted back from the date the prisoner is entitled to be released under Part 1, rather than from halfway through the sentence. This ensures the timing of removal powers reflects the offence‑based release entitlement.
Section 9B(3)(c) is similarly updated. Where a prisoner is removed from prison by Scottish Ministers for the purpose of removal from the United Kingdom but remains in the UK, the person is liable to detention until the point at which they would be entitled to be released under Part 1. The previous threshold of one‑half of the sentence is removed.
Section 9B(5) is substituted to clarify and expand ministerial order‑making powers. Scottish Ministers may by order amend the number of days specified in subsection (1) and may amend the minimum‑served period in subsection (2), expressed either as a fixed length of time or as a proportion of the sentence. This mirrors the approach in section 3AA(6)(b) of the 1993 Act, as substituted by the 2019 Act, enabling future adjustment without primary legislation.
Section 9C is brought into line with the new release framework. References in subsections (1) and (6) to one‑half of the sentence are replaced with references to the proportion of the sentence required under Part 1 in order for the prisoner to be entitled to be released. The change standardises terminology across the transitory provisions.
In operational terms, prisoners liable to removal from the United Kingdom do not qualify for early release on licence under section 3AA. Early removal before the automatic release date remains available under section 9B; the moment at which Ministers may exercise that power will now track the offence‑based entitlement date rather than an inflexible halfway point.
For prison and casework teams, the effect is administrative but material. Sentence‑calculation tools, release planning and removal timetables should be recalibrated against the offence‑based entitlement date. Practitioners should also monitor any orders made under the revised section 9B(5), which could vary the lead‑in days or the minimum period to be served before early removal can be directed.