# The Prison (Governor’s and Adjudicators’ Punishments) (Amendment) Rules 2026, Rule 4: Amendments to rule 55


In rule 55 (governor’s punishments)—
(a) in paragraph (1)—
(i) in the opening words, after “(2)”, insert “, (2A)”;
(ii) in sub-paragraph (b), for “42” substitute “84”;
(iii) at the end of sub-paragraph (i), before the full stop, insert—
“(j) in the case of a convicted prisoner, forfeiture of social visits for a period not exceeding 27 days;
(k) in the case of a convicted prisoner, restriction of social visits to once in every period of 28 days for a period not exceeding 84 days”;
(b) after paragraph (2), insert—
“(2A) A punishment listed in rule 55(1)(j) or (k) does not apply in relation to social visits from a child of the prisoner and any adult who is appropriately accompanying that child.
(2B) In paragraphs (1) and (2A)—
“child of the prisoner” means a person under the age of 18 in respect of whom the prisoner—
(a) is a parent, or
(b) has parental responsibility within the meaning of section 3 of the Children Act 1989;
“social visit” means an in-person visit to a prisoner, but does not include visits from a person acting in a professional or official capacity.”.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/664/rule/4 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/prison-governors-and-adjudicators-punishments-amendment-rules-2026/rule-4
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.