HM’s Prison Service Act, 2023

HM’s Prison Service Act, 2023
Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland
An Act to Establish the Prison Service of the Empire of Great Britain
Citation	Original Text
Enacted by	House of Commons
Date enacted	12 January, 2023
Enacted by	House of Lords
Date enacted	26 January, 2023
Date of Royal Assent	26 January, 2023
Signed by	HM Queen Elizabeth III
Introduced by	Rt Hon Sirch Somerset MP (BFL)
Amends
None
Repealing legislation
None
Status: In force

Content of the Act

Article I || Titles

1.00 || This Act may be cited and referred to as HM’s Prison Service Act 2022.

1.01 || This act may be referred to in full as An Act to Establish the Prison Service of the Empire of Great Britain.

Article II || Definitions

2.00 || A prison shall be defined as a building in which people are legally held as a punishment for a crime they have committed.

2.01 || A Warden shall be defined as an officer charged with the responsibility of maintaining the security of a prison and those interred within it.

2.02 || An announced inspection shall be defined as a visit and subsequent examination of a prison by HMIP where the prison Governor and administration team have been given a full week’s notice of such.

2.03 || An unannounced Inspection shall be defined as a visit and subsequent examination of a prison by HMIP where the prison Governor and administration team have been notified of such on the morning of an inspection.

2.04 || Special Measures shall be defined as a status applied by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on prisons within the Empire of Great Britain who fall short of acceptable standards.

Article III || Establishment

3.00 || Her Majesty’s Prison Service is hereby established, hereafter referred to as HMPS.

3.01 || HMPS is charged with the confinement of all criminal offenders in the Empire of Great Britain ordered to serve a prison sentence by the courts.

3.02|| HMPS shall be overseen and governed by the Director General of Her Majesty’s Prison Service.

3.02a|| The Director General shall be appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Secretary of State for Justice.

Article IV || Prisons

4.00 || The following prisons are under the direct control of HMPS: AY: HMP Aylesbury WK: HMP Wakefield BF: HMP Bedford BA: HMP Belmarsh BL: HMP Bristol BN: HMP Bullingdon BM: HMP Birmingham BS: HMP Brinsford BX: HMP Brixton CF: HMP Cardiff CW: HMP Channings Wood DM: HMP Durham DT: HMP Deerbolt DW: HMP Downview EE: HMP Erlestoke EY: HMP Elmley EX: HMP Exeter FK: HMP Frankland FS: HMP Featherstone FD: HMP Ford GH: HMP Garth HV: HMP Haverigg HC: HMP Huntercombe HE: HMP Hewell HH: HMP Holme House HL: HMP Hull HM: HMP Humber HO: HMP High Down HP: HMP Highpoint IS: HMP/YOI Isis KV: HMP Kirklevington Grange LE: HMP Leeds LF: HMP Lancaster Farms LI: HMP Lincoln LH: HMP Lindholme LL: HMP Long Lartin LP: HMP Liverpool LW: HMP Lewes MD: HMP Moorland MR: HMP Manchester MH: HMP Morton Hall MT: HMP The Mount NM: HMP Nottingham PD: HMP Portland PV: HMP Pentonville PN: HMP Preston RS: HMP Risley SF: HMP Stafford ST: HMP Styal SW: HMP Swansea UK: HMP Usk and Prescoed WD: HMP Wakefield WE: HMP Wealstun WL: HMP Wayland WM: HMP Whitemoor WC: HMP Winchester WS: HMP Wormwood Scrubs WW: HMP Wandsworth

4.01 || Her Majesty’s Government shall not create or licence private prisons or contract any other company, organisation, agency, or otherwise to run, govern, maintain, or manage a prison.

Article V || Prison Officers and Wardens

5.00 || Prison officers, hereafter referred to as warderns, shall have all the powers, authority, protections, and privileges of a police constable whilst acting as such.

5.01 || Wardens shall work in small teams, as decided by the prison Governor, either assigned to a specific duty, or providing one shift of staff for the supervision of a particular wing within a prison.

5.02 || Each such team shall be led by a Supervising Officer.

5.03 || A Custodial Manager is an overall manager of a wing within a prison and shall have direct management of said wing and the line management of the wardens and supervising officers.

5.04 || A prison Governor shall be appointed to manage and control a designated prison, or number of prisons. 5.04a || Prison Governors shall be appointed by the Director General of HMPS. 5.04b || In the event that a Governor is designated more than one prison, they shall appoint a Director to carry out the specific provisions for an individual prison.

Article VI || Finances

6.00 || HMPS shall provide their accounts in a publicly accessible and viewable place.

6.01 || HMPS may omit figures deemed to be harmful to the safety of an individual inmate or that may reveal information deemed secret by Her Majesty’s Government or the Courts. 6.01a || All sums of money received and expended by HMPS 6.01b || All purchases made by HMPS 6.01c || The Salaries of all ranks within HMPS, including the Director General, and how much was paid in salaries.

6.02 || At least once per calendar year, the accounts of HMPS shall be subject to the examination of the Ministry of Justice and an independent auditor.

Article VII || HMPS Directorate Board

7.00 || The Directorate Board of HMPS, hereafter referred to as the Board, is hereby established as the governing body of HMPS.

7.01 || The Board shall comprise of the following members: 7.01a || The Secretary of State for Justice, 7.01b || Any Ministers of State within the Ministry of Justice, as appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice, 7.01c || The Director General of HMPS, 7.01d || Five (5) of the prison Governors, as chosen by the Director General 7.01e || Two (2) non-executive Directors that are independent of the Ministry of Justice and HMPS, as appointed by the Sovereign.

7.02 || The Board shall be charged with the maintenance of the Prison System within the Empire of Great Britain. The Board shall have the following powers and responsibilities: 7.02a || To advise the Government on the creation and dissolution of prisons; 7.02b || To control the finances of HMPS and determine the salaries of those within the institution; 7.02c || To maintain good standards within prisons, as determined by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons; 7.02e || To ensure the welfare of those interred within the prisons of HMPS; 7.02f || To produce a yearly report on the state of the prisons within the Empire, including the composition of said prisons, with recommendations for the government to enact.

Article VIII || HM’s Inspectorate of Prisons

8.00 || Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, hereafter referred to as HMIP, is hereby established as the primary organisation for the inspection, examination, and scrutiny of prisons within the Empire of Great Britain.

8.01 || HMIP shall be led by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, who shall be appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Secretary of State of Justice from outside HMPS for a period of five years.

8.02 || HMIP shall provide independent scrutiny of detention, prisons, and HMPS within the Empire of Great Britain.

8.03 || HMPI shall be empowered to perform announced and unannounced inspections of prisons.

8.04 || Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons shall be empowered to sanction prisons and place them under special measures.

8.04a || The requirements for, sanctions of, and additional help provided by special measures shall be determined by HMIP.

8.05 || Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons shall also write an annual report to be published on their findings on their listed jurisdiction in Article VIII, Section 2 of this Act.

Article IX || Ratification

9.00 || This Non-Standard Act shall come into effect upon passage by both Houses of Parliament with a simple majority and assent by the Sovereign or other authority as established under the Monarchy Act of 2021.