A prison has been found to be overcrowded with cells too small for two people, inspectors have reported.

HMP Low Moss, near Bishopbriggs, had its capacity increased by 100 in 2012 through creating double cells.

But Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons said the space is too small, particularly during the pandemic when prisoners were in their cells for longer periods.

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It found that prison bosses need to find other ways of coping with an increased prison population.

Other issues were found during the pandemic, including missed hospital appointments due to a “troubling” transport performance.

On overcrowding, the report found: “The continued overcrowding, far exceeding design capacity, remains an enduring crisis and is echoed in HMP Low Moss with the prison population also exceeding its 2012 design capacity.

“The introduction of an additional 100 spaces, while providing much-needed capacity for the overall estate, reduced the individual living space available for prisoners by creating double cellular accommodation out of designated single cell accommodation. These small double cells are particularly troubling in the Covid pandemic when time out of cell was at a premium.”

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The operational capacity for HMP Low Moss was 784. It was raised to 884 as part of ‘Project 100’, which resulted in bunk beds being placed into single cells to help deal with the increased national prison population.

The report states: “It is HMIPS’ view that the space available was not adequate for two people to live comfortably side by side. At the time of the inspection, there were no plans to end ‘Project 100’."

It said the transport issue was “true across Scotland” and since it has been raised with the Scottish Prison Service “improvements have been noted”.

Concerns about drug policy were noted with a recommendation made that “Low Moss should introduce a dedicated and staffed drug testing facility that would support a wider range of drug testing and enable analysis of substance prevalence".

The inspection report found while there were issues to be improved there was strong leadership.

It stated: “In conclusion, the inspection undoubtedly highlighted a number of issues where improvement is necessary and where, with creative thinking, the limitations of the existing pandemic are not an insurmountable barrier to progress.

“However, the governor in charge and management team demonstrated their capability to provide strong operational leadership in testing times.”