Exclusive: Fine defaulters will no longer be given the option of going to prison and those committing minor offences will be punished in the community.

Fine defaulters will no longer be given the option of going to prison and those committing minor offences will be punished in the community.

Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill yesterday pledged to end the practice of some 6000 fine defaulters being jailed each year.

In future those with sufficient money who refuse to pay will have their cars seized or assets frozen, and those without the means to pay will be expected to carry out hard labour in their community.

Mr MacAskill said: "We need to remove the flotsam and jetsam from prisons to allow them to focus on those who need to be there and be punished. There is a general desire in communities that those who commit low tariff offences should have a community punishment.

"We are seeking to ensure that community sentences will ensure repayment for the harm caused. Most of these minor offenders are a nuisance and have to be punished but many communities accept they don't have to go to prison. They want their communities improved by a bit of sweat and labour."

Next year fines enforcement officers with the power to make deductions from offenders' benefits and arrest earnings and bank accounts will be introduced across Scotland. As of September 1, courts will no longer be allowed to imprison offenders for failing to pay fines of £500 or less. Instead offenders will be given a Supervised Attendance Order (SAO) - a type of community sentence. In 2005 some 6098 people were imprisoned for defaulting on fines. More than 85% of them had failed to pay fines of less than £500.

Last month The Herald revealed that some women are choosing to go to Cornton Vale Prison to escape spiralling debts and their lives on the outside.

Since 1996 the female prison population has risen by 75%. Seven out of 10 prison sentences passed on women are for six months or less. In 2004-5, more than 400 women were sent to prison for failing to pay a fine.

"Prison is not for fine defaulters - the ignominy is that we have to pay thousands of pounds for them to put their feet up,"

Mr MacAskill told The Herald. "You could have a very wealthy individual who has committed a serious indiscretion. If they choose not to pay, the fine enforcement agency would have the right to take their car or arrest their bank account, rather than us spending public money on allowing them to sit around and twist their thumbs in prison.

"Those who cannot afford to pay should be paying back their community. It is unacceptable to choose to do the time'. We will not allow them to lie on their back in prison contemplating life and the universe at a cost to the taxpayer. The fines enforcement agency will be able to access wages and remove and sell vehicles."

Scotland proportionately has one of Western Europe's highest prison populations despite promises by successive ministers to reduce the figure.

It costs some £33,000 to keep someone in prison for a year and the minister wants to ensure that only those who need to go to prison are sent there.

Mr MacAskill added: "At the end of the day sentencing is a matter for the judiciary. I do not believe they sharpen their quills waiting to go and doff a black cap and give a draconian sentence. Often they impose a sentence out of frustration. What we need to do is provide them with options."