§ Lord Macaulay of Bragarasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect that the draft revised rules, under the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1952, for the management of prisons and other institutions will be published and made available for comment and consultation with interested parties.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Scottish Office (Lord Strathclyde)A draft version of the new rules was issued in late 1989 for internal consultation and these consultations were completed last year; I shall send the noble Lord a copy of that draft. However, the initiatives which we have introduced over the past 12 months to improve regimes for prisoners and the current proposals for reorganisation of the Scottish Prison Service will need to be reflected in further changes to the rules; and we shall also want to have regard to the recommendations contained in the report of Lord Justice Woolf's inquiry into prison disturbances in England and Wales. As a consequence, I am not in a position to say when we will be in a position to enter the next stage of consultation on the revised rules.