- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As made)
The Prison Rules 1999
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
More Resources
Changes over time for: Section 50
Alternative versions:
Changes to legislation:
The Prison Rules 1999, Section 50 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 30 April 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Instrument associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Instrument (including any effects on those provisions):
- rule 51(1B)-(1D) inserted by S.I. 2024/212 rule 2(3)(b)
- rule 51(23A) inserted by S.I. 2024/212 rule 2(3)(e)
- rule 55(1)(i) inserted by S.I. 2024/212 rule 2(5)(a)
Compulsory testing for controlled drugs [F1, pharmacy medicines and other substances etc.] F2... E+W
50.—(1) This rule applies where an officer, acting under the powers conferred by section 16A of the Prison Act 1952 M1 (power to test prisoners for drugs), requires a prisoner to provide a sample for the purpose of ascertaining whether he has any controlled drug [F3pharmacy medicine, prescription only medicine, psychoactive substance or specified substance] F4... in his body.
(2) In this rule “sample" means a sample of urine or any other description of sample specified in the authorisation by the governor for the purposes of section 16A of the Prison Act 1952.
(3) When requiring a prisoner to provide a sample, an officer shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, inform the prisoner:
(a)that he is being required to provide a sample in accordance with section 16A of the Prison Act 1952; and
(b)that a refusal to provide a sample may lead to disciplinary proceedings being brought against him.
(4) An officer shall require a prisoner to provide a fresh sample, free from any adulteration.
(5) An officer requiring a sample shall make such arrangements and give the prisoner such instructions for its provision as may be reasonably necessary in order to prevent or detect its adulteration or falsification.
(6) A prisoner who is required to provide a sample may be kept apart from other prisoners for a period not exceeding one hour to enable arrangements to be made for the provision of the sample.
(7) A prisoner who is unable to provide a sample of urine when required to do so may be kept apart from other prisoners until he has provided the required sample, save that a prisoner may not be kept apart under this paragraph for a period of more than 5 hours.
(8) A prisoner required to provide a sample of urine shall be afforded such degree of privacy for the purposes of providing the sample as may be compatible with the need to prevent or detect any adulteration or falsification of the sample; in particular a prisoner shall not be required to provide such a sample in the sight of a person of the opposite sex.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in rule 50 title inserted (8.12.2021 immediately after 2021 c. 18 comes into force) by The Prison and Young Offender Institution (Amendment) Rules 2021 (S.I. 2021/1279), rules 1(3), 2(3)(a); S.I. 2021/1280, reg. 2
F2Words in rule 50 title omitted (8.12.2021) by virtue of Prisons (Substance Testing) Act 2021 (c. 18), ss. 2(3)(b)(i), 3(2); S.I. 2021/1280, reg. 2
F3Words in rule 50(1) inserted (8.12.2021 immediately after 2021 c. 18 comes into force) by The Prison and Young Offender Institution (Amendment) Rules 2021 (S.I. 2021/1279), rules 1(3), 2(3)(b); S.I. 2021/1280, reg. 2
F4Words in rule 50(1) omitted (8.12.2021) by virtue of Prisons (Substance Testing) Act 2021 (c. 18), ss. 2(3)(b)(ii), 3(2); S.I. 2021/1280, reg. 2
Marginal Citations
M11952 c. 52; section 16A was inserted by section 15 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c. 33).
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Instrument
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.