Search Legislation

The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011, Section 55. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

[F1Restrictions on general correspondence to and from the prisonerS

This section has no associated Executive Note

55.(1) This rule applies to any letter or package, other than one to which rule 56 or 57 applies, which a prisoner wishes to send or which is addressed to a prisoner.

(2) An officer or employee may open a letter or package to which this rule applies and remove [F2, copy and, for the purposes of investigating whether it contains a prohibited article or unauthorised property, test] the contents of that letter or package.

(3) Where an officer or employee proposes to open a letter or package to which this rule applies, or remove the contents of that letter or package, the officer or employee may ask the prisoner to be present when the letter or package is opened or its contents removed.

[F3(3A) Where an officer or employee copies the contents of a letter or package to which this rule applies, the officer or employee must provide the copy to the prisoner.

(3B) Where an officer or employee copies the contents of a letter or package to which this rule applies, the officer or employee may retain the letter or package for return to the prisoner upon his or her release.]

(4) The contents of a letter or package to which this rule applies may only be read by an officer or employee—

(a)in the circumstances specified in a direction by the Scottish Ministers made under paragraph (7); and

(b)in accordance with any conditions specified in a direction by the Scottish Ministers made under paragraph (7).

(5) Subject to paragraph (6), where a letter or package to which this rule applies is, or is found to contain anything, in contravention of the restrictions specified in a direction by the Scottish Ministers made under paragraph (7), an officer or employee may—

(a)prevent the letter or package, or the contents of the letter or package, from being sent or from being received by the prisoner; and

(b)deal with the letter or package, or the contents of the letter or package, in accordance with such arrangements as may be specified in a direction by the Scottish Ministers made under paragraph (7).

(6) Where a letter or package to which this rule applies is found to contain a prohibited article or any unauthorised property, the Governor must deal with the item in terms of rule 104.

(7) The Scottish Ministers may specify in a direction any of the following matters in relation to letters and packages to which this rule applies—

(a)the circumstances in which a letter or package may be read;

(b)the conditions under which a letter or package may be read;

(c)the officers or employees who may be authorised to read a letter or package;

(d)the restrictions as to the number of letters or packages which a prisoner may send;

(e)the restrictions as to the amount of money (whether in the form of cash, cheques, bankers’ drafts or otherwise) which a prisoner may send or receive in a letter or package;

(f)the times and frequency at which a prisoner may send or receive money (whether in the form of cash, cheques, bankers’ drafts or otherwise) in a letter or package;

(g)the persons, authorities and organisations to whom a prisoner is prohibited from sending a letter or package;

(h)the restrictions or conditions which apply where a prisoner wishes to send a letter or package to a person, authority or organisation with whom the prisoner is not prohibited from corresponding;

(i)the general nature and description of letters or packages which a prisoner is not permitted to send or receive; and

(j)the arrangements in accordance with which a letter or package, or the contents of a letter or package, may be dealt under paragraph (5)(b).]

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

You have chosen to open The Whole Instrument

The Whole Instrument you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Instrument as a PDF

The Whole Instrument you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Instrument

The Whole Instrument you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

Close

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.

Close

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.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

Executive Note

Executive Note sets out a brief statement of the purpose of a Scottish Statutory Instrument and provides information about its policy objective and policy implications. They aim to make the Scottish Statutory Instrument accessible to readers who are not legally qualified and accompany any Scottish Statutory Instrument or Draft Scottish Statutory Instrument laid before the Scottish Parliament from July 2005 onwards.

Close

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
Close

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.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as made version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources