Scottish directors protest at agency

Proposals for a national correctional service for Scotland will be
met with a vigorous campaign of resistance, the Association of
Directors of Social Work has said.

Plans featured in the Labour election manifesto to create a single
agency would bring together work carried out by the Scottish Prison
Service and social work criminal justice departments. While social
workers and prison officers would continue to supervise sentences
in their areas, the correctional agency would co-ordinate the work
and enforce new national standards.

Chairperson of the ADSW’s standing committee on criminal justice
Colin MacKenzie said that the case for change had not been made and
the proposals would damage current provision.