Over the past year, SPARC has been quietly building capacity, responding to growing demand, and using individual advocacy to expose wider problems across Scotland’s prison and post-release systems. Much of this work has been made possible by a combination of modest but crucial funding, alongside significant unpaid labour and commitment beyond what any grant could cover.
Between January 2025 and January 2026, SPARC received £20,000 in National Lottery funding, £5,000 from Firstport, and additional support from the University of Glasgow to cover rent for a small premises. That funding did not “solve” the problems people face in prison, on licence or indeed with a loved one locked up. Still, it did give us protected time, basic infrastructure, and the ability confirm that SPARC actually exists as an organisation people can rely on.
Advocacy: small numbers, high complexity
During this period, SPARC supported people with 91 issues across 57 recorded advocacy requests. In practice, informal contact and follow-up conversations brought overall demand closer to around 70 requests. Many people contacted us more than once, often because a single issue quickly revealed several others and due to our success of helping the first-time round – they got right back in touch.
We deliberately limit the number of people we support at any one time. That isn’t about turning people away lightly; it’s about making sure we don’t promise help we can’t deliver. Most of the issues people bring to us are complex, emotionally charged, and high-risk. Doing that work poorly, or superficially, can cause real harm.
Funding allowed us to dedicate consistent time to this work rather than relying entirely on unpaid evenings and weekends. At the same time, a significant proportion of the advocacy we delivered still fell outside any funded allocation.
Where advocacy happens
Most of SPARC’s advocacy work now takes place in the community rather than inside prisons. That reflects reality: the most acute issues often appear after release, when people are navigating licence conditions, healthcare gaps, drug treatment, housing, and the constant threat of recall.
SPARC also delivered advocacy across multiple Scottish prisons, primarily through desk-based work. Funded IT equipment enabled work across the prison estate without being tied to a single site, with most activity focused on long-term, progression-focused prisons such as Shotts, and Perth, and adults trying to get HDC tag in Polmont.
Who is contacting SPARC?
The people contacting SPARC are overwhelmingly life-sentenced prisoners, lifers on parole, other long-term prisoners, and their families. Families in particular contact us when they cannot get straight answers from statutory services and are worried about progression, parole, healthcare, or release arrangements.
We were also contacted by other third-sector organisations looking for independent advocacy or simply trying to work out who can help out where, can we sign post back and forward, and just helpful advice where and when needed. Over time, this has led to informal partnerships and (GDPR compliant) information-sharing relationships that help avoid duplication and confusion.
What people need help with
The most common issues people bring to SPARC relate to prison progression, parole, licence conditions, healthcare, drug-related matters, and Home Detention Curfew (HDC). These are not one-off problems; they are recurring pressure points built into the system, especially at moments of transition.
A large number of people contact us for what appears to be “general advice”. In reality, this usually means the system has failed to provide clear, consistent information early enough, and people are trying to prevent a situation from getting worse or they’re already in crisis and really need pointed in the right direction.
Outcomes that matter
Some advocacy outcomes are quiet. Others expose serious failures.
In one case involving a severely disabled person in custody, SPARC challenged unsafe care practices. That led to changes in moving and handling procedures across a private healthcare provider, rapid staff retraining, NHS intervention to provide mobility aids, and pressure from SPS to secure appropriate equipment. The outcome affected more than one person across various establishments and the private care company cannot be faulted for how quick they were to respond.
In other cases, advocacy helped people move to less secure conditions after disproportionate delays, resolved conflicting information that was blocking HDC release, reduced overly restrictive licence conditions, and supported people to maintain work, creative projects, and family stability in the community.
Funding enabled us to stay with these cases long enough to achieve outcomes. Much of the work, however, still happened outside paid hours.
From advocacy to system change
Alongside individual casework, SPARC has spent several years working behind the scenes to ensure that the voices of people with lived experience are heard in spaces where they are usually absent. Through sustained advocacy, relationship-building, and persistence, SPARC has increasingly secured access to discussions on prisons, parole, and progression that are typically closed to small grassroots organisations.
Over the past year, this work has led to invitations for SPARC to share evidence and lived experience directly with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, senior leaders within the Scottish Prison Service and the Parole Board for Scotland, as well as the chair of the Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission. While this represents meaningful progress, SPARC remains a relatively small presence within these forums. We are increasingly being given a seat at the table, but we are not yet a meaningful part of any decision-making, and much work remains to ensure that lived experience and advocacy evidence carry appropriate weight in shaping policy and practice.
Research, partnerships, and building infrastructure
Advocacy has also driven our research, particularly on HDC, parole, and progression. Over the year, SPARC completed two FOI-based HDC projects, turning people’s frustrations into publicly usable evidence completed by our first university placement.
As well as hosting our first master ‘s level student placement, we also worked alongside colleagues at Dundee University, Apex Scotland, and the Prison Reform Trust as well as Next Chapter, HMIPSs Prison Expert Group (PEG), and NHS community addiction teams. These partnerships extend our reach without pulling us away from the realities people are dealing with.
Funding also allowed us to build a website. It is now live, with around 18–20 blogs fully written by people with lived experience, with more in development. We kept the launch deliberately low-key to avoid being overwhelmed before systems were ready.
Looking ahead for 2026
SPARC remains small by design. Core members continue to rely on academic wages rather than SPARC salaries to reinvest any consultancy income and employ additional advocates over time.
The last year has been about building something solid enough to last. The next phase is about growing carefully, without losing what makes the work effective in the first place.
