The Secretary of State may with the approval of the Treasury alter, enlarge or rebuild any prison and build new prisons.

A declaration under this section may with respect to the building or part of a building declared to be a prison make the same provisions as an order under the next following section may make with respect to an existing prison.

A declaration under this section may at any time be revoked by the Secretary of State.

A declaration under this section shall not be sufficient to vest the legal estate of any building in the F2Secretary of State.

The transfer under the M1Prison Act 1877 of prisons and of the powers and jurisdiction of prison authorities and of justices in sessions assembled and visiting justices shall not be deemed to have affected the jurisdiction of any sheriff or coroner or, except to the extent of that transfer, of any justice of the peace or other officer.

The Secretary of State may by order direct that, for the purpose of any enactment, rule of law or custom dependent on a prison being the prison of any county or place, any prison situated in that county or in the county in which that place is situated, or any prison provided by him in pursuance of this Act, shall be deemed to be the prison of that county or place.

Every prison and all real and personal property belonging to a prison shall be vested in the Secretary of State and may be disposed of in such manner as the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Treasury, may determine.

For the purposes of this section the Secretary of State shall be deemed to be a corporation sole.

Any instrument in connection with the acquisition, management or disposal of any property to which this section applies may be executed on behalf of the Secretary of State by an Under–Secretary of State or any other person authorised by the Secretary of State in that behalf; and any instrument purporting to have been so executed on behalf of the Secretary of State shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to have been so executed on his behalf.

The last foregoing subsection shall be without prejudice to the execution of any such instrument as aforesaid, or of any other instrument, on behalf of the Secretary of State in any other manner authorised by law.

F4The Secretary of State may purchase by agreement orcompulsorily, any land required for the alteration, enlargement or rebuilding of a prison or for establishing a new prison or for any other purpose connected with the management of a prison (including the provision of accommodation for officers or servants employed in a prison).

The F6M2Acquisition of Land Act 1981 shall apply to the compulsory purchase of land by the Secretary of State under this section . . . F7.

In relation to the purchase of land by agreement under this section, F8the provisions of Part I of the M3Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (so far as applicable) other than sections 4 to 8, section 10, and section 31, shall apply.

Subject to the next following subsection, the Secretary of State may by order close any prison.

Where a prison is the only prison in the county, the Secretary of State shall not make an order under this section in respect of it except for special reasons, which shall be stated in the order.

In this section the expression “county” means a county at large.

For the purposes of this and the next following section a prison shall not be deemed to be closed by reason only of its appropriation for use as a remand centre, detention centre or F9youth custody centreF10or secure training centre.