- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (01/01/2010)
- Original (As made)
Version Superseded: 26/09/2011
Point in time view as at 01/01/2010. This version of this provision has been superseded.
You are viewing this legislation item as it stood at a particular point in time. A later version of this or provision, including subsequent changes and effects, supersedes this version.
Note the term provision is used to describe a definable element in a piece of legislation that has legislative effect – such as a Part, Chapter or section.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the The Prison Rules 1999, Section 35A.
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.
35A.—(1) The Secretary of State may give directions to any governor concerning the interception in a prison of any communication by any prisoner or class of prisoners if the Secretary of State considers that the directions are—
(a)necessary on grounds specified in paragraph (4) below; and
(b)proportionate to what is sought to be achieved.
(2) Subject to any directions given by the Secretary of State, the governor may make arrangements for any communication by a prisoner or class of prisoners to be intercepted in a prison by an officer or an employee of the prison authorised by the governor for the purposes of this rule (referred to in this rule as an “authorised employee”) if he considers that the arrangements are—
(a)necessary on grounds specified in paragraph (4) below; and
(b)proportionate to what is sought to be achieved.
[F2(2A) The governor may not make arrangements for interception of any communication between a prisoner and
(a)the prisoner’s legal adviser; or
(b)any body or organisation with which the Secretary of State has made arrangements for the confidential handling of correspondence,
unless the governor has reasonable cause to believe that the communication is being made with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose and unless authorised by the chief operating officer of the prison service.]
(3) Any communication by a prisoner may, during the course of its transmission in a prison, be terminated by an officer or an authorised employee if he considers that to terminate the communication is—
(a)necessary on grounds specified in paragraph (4) below; and
(b)proportionate to what is sought to be achieved by the termination.
(4) The grounds referred to in paragraphs (1)(a), (2)(a) and (3)(a) above are—
(a)the interests of national security;
(b)the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of crime;
(c)the interests of public safety;
(d)securing or maintaining prison security or good order and discipline in prison;
(e)the protection of health or morals; or
(f)the protection of the rights and freedoms of any person.
(5) Any reference to the grounds specified in paragraph (4) above in relation to the interception of a communication by means of a telecommunications system in a prison, or the disclosure or retention of intercepted material from such a communication, shall be taken to be a reference to those grounds with the omission of sub-paragraph (f).
(6) For the purposes of this rule “interception”—
(a)in relation to a communication by means of a telecommunications system, means any action taken in relation to the system or its operation so as to make some or all of the contents of the communications available, while being transmitted, to a person other than the sender or intended recipient of the communication; and the contents of a communication are to be taken to be made available to a person while being transmitted where the contents of the communication, while being transmitted, are diverted or recorded so as to be available to a person subsequently; and
(b)in relation to any written or drawn communication, includes opening, reading, examining and copying the communication.]
Textual Amendments
F1Rules 35A-35D inserted (24.10.2000) by The Prison (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2000 (S.I. 2000/2641), rules 1, 5
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.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
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.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
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.