Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission minutes: December 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Chair -Martyn Evans
• Commissioners 
• Catherine Dyer CBE, Chair of Community Justice Scotland
• Dr Hannah Graham, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Stirling
• Former Justice Minister, Cathy Jamieson
• Sheriff David Mackie
• Lynsey Smith, Assistant Chief Officer for Operations and Governance Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership
• Secretariat, Quentin Fisher, Nicola Wisdahl, Aimee Burns, Shana Manzoor, Carmen Jongepier, Alastair Bowden

Items and actions

1.Welcome: including updates on recent developments etc

Several engagement sessions have been scheduled for the remainder of December, including meetings with the Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum (CJVFS), Audit Scotland, and a final meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance MSP, ahead of the publication of the final report.

2.Final approval of chapters.

The group discussed and agreed a range of matters including

1. Thoughts and views on the structure and content of draft report v2
2. Holistic view across recommendations to ensure key areas and organisations given enough focus
3. Approval of draft Executive Summary
4. Policy discussion on remaining matters including community justice structures, consideration of victims and public safety, decarceration strategy, sentencing inflation, CPOs, Restorative Justice, Supervision for prolific offenders, older prisoners, UNCRC, and mentoring.

The Chair expressed his appreciation to the Commissioners for their expertise and contribution to completing the final report over the past year.

3.Any Other Business 

The final chair and commissioners meeting is scheduled on 20 January 2026 at St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh.