The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Amendment Rules 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Rules)

These Rules further amend the Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 1994 (“the principal Rules”).

Rules 3 and 4 of these Rules amend rules 97 and 98 of the principal Rules in relation to inquiries into charges of a contravention of paragraph (x) of Schedule 3 to the principal Rules (which makes it a breach of discipline for a prisoner to administer a controlled drug to himself or fail to prevent the administration of a controlled drug to him by another person). The purpose of the amendments is to confer a discretion on the Governor inquiring into the charge to admit the written evidence of a person who has carried out an analysis of a sample provided by the prisoner for testing purposes where it is appropriate to do so without hearing oral evidence.

Rule 5 of these Rules substitutes rule 102 of the principal Rules which relates to requests by prisoners to speak to an officer of the Secretary of State, a member of the visiting committee, a sheriff or a justice of the peace. The effect of the substitution is to provide that the officer receiving the request must record it in writing and arrange for the request to be notified to the person with whom the prisoner wishes to speak. Rule 2 of these Rules makes a consequential amendment to rule 3 of the principal Rules.