Part 2Prisons

Other amendments of the Prison Act 1952

25Removal of requirement to appoint a medical officer etc

(1)

It is no longer a requirement for there to be a medical officer appointed under section 7(1) of the Prison Act 1952 for each prison (and, accordingly, in section 7(1) the words “and a medical officer” are omitted).

(2)

In section 128(5) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c. 33) (pay and conditions for the prison service), for paragraph (a) there is substituted—

“(a)

hold any post, other than as chaplain or assistant chaplain, to which they have been appointed for the purposes of section 7 of the Prison Act 1952;

(aa)

hold any post, other than as chaplain or assistant chaplain or as a medical officer, to which they have been appointed for the purposes of section 2(2) of the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953;”.

(3)

Sections 17 (painful tests applied by the medical officer) and 28(5) (duties of the medical officer in relation to certain prisoners) of the Prison Act 1952 (c. 52) cease to have effect.

26Independent monitoring boards

(1)

The boards appointed under section 6 of the Prison Act 1952 (boards of visitors) are renamed as independent monitoring boards.

(2)

Accordingly, in section 6 of that Act—

(a)

for the sidenote there is substituted “ Independent monitoring boards ”;

(b)

in subsection (2), for “board of visitors” there is substituted “ group of independent monitors ”;

(c)

after subsection (2) there is inserted—

“(2A)

The groups so appointed are to be known as independent monitoring boards.”; and

(d)

in subsection (3), for “boards of visitors” there is substituted “ independent monitoring boards ” and for “a board of visitors” there is substituted “ an independent monitoring board ”.

(3)

In section 6(2) of that Act the words from “of whom” to the end cease to have effect.

27Amendment of section 8A of the Prison Act 1952

(1)

Section 8A of the Prison Act 1952 (powers of search by authorised employees at a directly managed prison) is amended as follows.

(2)

In the side note, for “employees” there is substituted “ persons ”.

(3)

In subsections (1) and (2), for “employee” there is substituted “ person ”.

(4)

In subsection (3)—

(a)

for “authorised employee” there is substituted “ authorised person ”; and

(b)

for “an employee” there is substituted “ a person working at the prison, ”.