Explanatory note

These Rules amend the Prison Rules 1999 (“the 1999 Rules”) as a consequence of changes to the powers and responsibilities of directors and controllers in contracted out prisons within the meaning of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”).

Restrictions on the powers of directors to carry out certain disciplinary hearings relating to prisoners, and to take specified measures relating to the segregation and restraint of prisoners, were removed by an amendment to the 1991 Act made by section 19 of the Offender Management Act 2007 (c. 21). The Prison (Amendment) Rules 2007 (S.I. 2007/2954) provided that, in relation to these functions, where references in the Prison Rules to a governor were previously to include reference to a controller, those references were to be read as references to a director.

Certain of those functions may, where necessary, continue to be carried out by a controller as well as a director and these Rules further amend the Prison Rules to provide that references to a governor in relation to those functions include references to either a director or a controller. These Rules also allow a director, with the leave of the Secretary of State, to delegate his functions in relation to adjudications, which will allow appropriately qualified officers to carry out adjudications on behalf of the director in contracted out prisons.

The amendment also removes rule 82(2), which referred to powers in s85(3)(b) of the 1991 Act, which was removed by the amendment to the 1991 Act.