As part of the Scottish Government’s Budget spending pledges, £70 million has been promised for the country’s prison estates.
Included in this is the commitment to complete the construction of the Dundee women’s community-based custody unit, set for the former Our Lady’s Primary School site on Hilltown, by the end of 2021.
Construction is set to start by summer this year, with the unit part of plans to transform women’s custody in Scotland.
In the budget statement, the Scottish Government says: “While Scotland’s prisons are recognised as being well run, we acknowledge that they face a number of significant challenges – in particular the consequences of a rapid increase in the prison population from 2018‑19.
“While compared with a decade ago, far fewer people now receive custodial sentences each year, those that do on average receive longer sentences and are increasingly complex to manage.
“In 2020‑21 we will progress transformation of the female custodial estate to address the specific needs of female offenders, including the construction of a smaller national facility at HMP Cornton Vale and the development of two innovative community‑based
custody units in Glasgow and Dundee before the end of 2021.”
