§ Mr. KynochTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will introduce new rules for prisons and young offender institutions; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe new Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 1994, which were the subject of wide-ranging public consultation late last year, have been laid before this House today. They will come into force on 1 November. The revised rules not only pull together and update the Prison (Scotland) Rules 1952 and the Young Offenders (Scotland) Rules 1965, but also lift out of the old Prisons (Scotland) Standing Orders 121W a number of matters which, because they concern prisoners' rights, more appropriately appear on the face of the rules so that they are subject to parliamentary and public scrutiny. They take account of the relevant European guidance, the European convention on human rights and the European prison rules. They represent a fundamental and wide-ranging overhaul of the rules governing the management of Scottish penal establish-ments, and are designed not merely to codify existing practice, but to introduce change.
The rules provide inter alia for the making of directions. While the latter have legislative force, they do not require to be formally laid before Parliament. Nevertheless, so that hon. Members may see the detail of what is proposed, copies of the draft directions have been placed in the Library. In due course, the directions, like the rules, will be published.