The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Rules 1998

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”).

The amendments take into account changes in the law relating to calculation of sentences introduced by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c. 37) (“the 1998 Act”).

Section 111 of the 1998 Act substitutes section 27(5) of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 (c. 9) (“the 1993 Act”) to the effect that a person is, for the purposes of early release provisions, to be regarded as having a single term comprising two or more sentences which are either consecutive terms or wholly or partly concurrent terms only where–

(a) the sentences were passed at the same time; or

(b) where the sentences were passed at different times, the person has not been released under Part I of the 1993 Act at any time during the period beginning with the passing of the first sentence and ending with the passing of the last.

By virtue of section 111(6) of the 1998 Act, this substitution only has effect where one or more of the sentences concerned was passed after the commencement of section 111 of the 1998 Act. Rule 3(3) of the principal Rules provided that all references in the Rules to a prisoner’s sentence are to be regarded as a reference to a single term where the prisoner is serving two or more terms which are either consecutive or wholly or partly concurrent. Rule 2 of these Rules makes new provision by substituting for rule 3(3) new paragraphs (3) to (7) which reflect the effect of the amendments made by section 111 of the 1998 Act. In relation to provisions of the principal Rules concerning additional days, there is provision substituting new definitions of long-term and short-term prisoner in rule 3(1) and new provision concerning aggregation of two or more sentences which reflects the new section 27(5) of the 1993 Act.

Rule 100 of the principal Rules (which concerns the governor’s punishments which may be imposed where a prisoner is found guilty of a breach of discipline) is substituted by rules 100 and 100A. The purpose is to make amended provision with respect to awards of additional days. One effect of the amendments is expressly to prohibit the making of an award of additional days in relation to a prisoner where he is serving the balance of his sentence having previously been released under Part I of the 1993 Act but thereafter recalled to prison on revocation of his licence.

The amendments to provisions relating to awards of additional days also make provision in relation to prisoners who are serving extended sentences within the meaning of section 210A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (as inserted by section 86(1) of the 1998 Act). The effect is to limit the power to make an award of additional days so that it can only be made in relation to the custodial term of the extended sentence and not in relation to the whole sentence which also involves an extension period.