“Necessary and proportionate.” That is the Scottish Government’s justification for emergency early release across the prison estate, with the Early Release of Prisoners (Scotland) Regulations 2025 taking effect on Monday 10 November 2025 after approval by the Scottish Parliament. Ministers say the move is in response to an emergency situation affecting prisons’ safety, order and welfare.

The regulations apply to all prisons in Scotland and include young offenders’ institutions, according to the official note. Eligibility is tightly drawn: it covers people serving sentences of less than four years who, on set reference dates, are due to be released within 180 days-either unconditionally under section 1(1) of the 1993 Act or conditionally on licence under section 7(1)(a).

Safeguards are explicit. Anyone with a domestic abuse conviction-either an offence under the 2018 Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act or an offence aggravated by domestic abuse under the 2016 Act-will not be released early if that conviction is not yet spent at the point they would otherwise leave. People subject to non‑harassment orders are also excluded, as are those sentenced on or after 28 March 2026. If a relevant conviction becomes spent before 30 April 2026, eligibility can switch on and release must then happen as soon as reasonably practicable.

Releases will be staged in seven batches. For those already in custody on 20 October 2025 and due out within 180 days of the rules taking effect, there are three windows this year: 11–13 November, 25–27 November, and 9–11 December. Four further windows follow in 2026 tied to later reference dates: 27–29 January, 24–26 February, 24–26 March and 28–30 April.

The effect is that some short‑term prisoners will return to the community weeks-and in some cases several months-earlier than planned. Where a release cannot be processed on the stated dates, prisons are required to proceed as soon as reasonably practicable, with a hard backstop: no one can be released under this order after 30 April 2026.

This decision will be watched closely across the Borderlands-from Berwick and Northumberland to Carlisle and Cumbria-where families and work ties often run both sides of the line. While the order applies to Scotland alone, a share of those freed could return to homes and jobs near the border, meaning councils, housing providers, GPs and recovery services will want coordination to be tight.

For victims’ organisations, the exclusions matter. The regulations make clear that people with domestic abuse convictions or aggravations are not eligible for early release unless and until those convictions become spent, and anyone under a non‑harassment order is out of scope. That clarity will shape how safety planning and notifications are handled in coming weeks.

Legally, ministers are acting under section 3C of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, as amended by the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023. Angela Constance signed the instrument at St Andrew’s House on 6 November 2025, following parliamentary approval.

There is no headline number attached to the order and no explicit capacity target in the text. The key dates for services to note are Monday 10 November, when the regulations come into force, and Tuesday 11 to Thursday 13 November, when the first early releases begin. Further waves follow through to the final window ending on 30 April 2026.