Scotland's taxpayers are funding a nearly £1.5 million annual bill for almost 50 prison chaplains, according to official figures obtained under Freedom of Information.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) employs 47 chaplains – 24 Protestant, 20 Catholic and three Muslim – at a total cost of £1,458,234 in the year to April. This covers religious leaders who provide spiritual guidance to inmates across Scotland's 16 jails, ministering to 8,300 prisoners at a ratio of roughly one chaplain for every 177 inmates.
Chaplaincy roles and costs
All chaplains are appointed on the same pay band ranging from £52,431 to £55,966 a year. In addition to salary costs, total chaplaincy-related expenses during the period added another £11,558.49 to the bill.
While SPS only employs chaplains from three main faith groups, it drafts in others as needed, adding another £29,301 to the cost of meeting prisoners' spiritual needs. External faith providers are paid a flat fee of £55 per visit – in addition to travel expenses where applicable – and were called out on more than 530 occasions in 12 months.
SPS defends chaplaincy services
An SPS spokesman said: "We are committed to meeting the religious, spiritual and pastoral needs of those in our care. Chaplains provide far more than faith-based support."
"They offer pastoral care and emotional support to people from a wide range of backgrounds, including those with no religious belief. They also play an important role in helping individuals deal with bereavement, family difficulties and other life events," the spokesman added.
"SPS has a statutory duty to facilitate religious observance and pastoral care in custody, and chaplaincy services make an important contribution to the wellbeing of people in our care and to creating safe, secure and respectful prison environments."
Concerns over exploitation and historic appointment
Whistleblowers have claimed some inmates try to exploit religious provisions to "milk the system". One said: "If you can spend an hour with a cup of tea and a biscuit with the chaplain, that's better than slopping out the kitchens."
Meanwhile, a minister who works in Glasgow's Barlinnie jail has become the first jail chaplain to be nominated as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Rev Jill Clancy has been named the Moderator Designate for 2027–2028, making her the first prison chaplain and only the seventh female moderator in the Church of Scotland's 466-year history.
