The Young Offender Institution Rules 2000

Made: 21st December 2000

Laid before Parliament: 5th January 2001

Coming into force: 1st April 2001

In pursuance of section 47 of the Prison Act 1952 I hereby make the following Rules:

PART I — Preliminary

Citation and commencement

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• (a) These Rules may be cited as the Young Offender Institution Rules 2000 and shall come into force on 1st April 2001.

• (b) The Rules set out in Schedule 1 to this Order are hereby revoked.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Rules, where the context so admits, the expression-

• “adjudicator” means a District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) or Deputy District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) approved by the Lord Chancellor for the purpose of inquiring into a charge which has been referred to him;

• “communication" includes any written or drawn communication from an inmate to any other person, whether intended to be transmitted by means of a postal service or not, and any communication from an inmate to any other person transmitted by means of a telecommunications system;

• “compulsory school age" has the same meaning as in the Education Act 1996 ;

• “controlled drug" means any drug which is a controlled drug for the purposes of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971;

• “coronavirus” has the meaning given by section 1 of the 2020 Act (meaning of “coronavirus” and related terminology);

• “coronavirus period” means the period of time inclusive of a transmission control period and the transition period which follows it;

• “electronic cigarette” means a product that can be used for the consumption of nicotine-containing vapour via a mouth piece, or any component of that product, including a cartridge, a tank and the device without cartridge or tank (regardless of whether the product is disposable or refillable by means of a refill container and a tank, or rechargeable with single use cartridges).

• “fixed-term prisoner” has the meaning assigned to it by section 237(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003;

• “governor" includes an officer for the time being in charge of a young offender institution;

• “health care professional” means a person who is a member of a profession regulated by a body mentioned in section 25(3) of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 and who is working within the young offender institution ...;

• “health care provider” includes any provider of health services, whether or not commissioned by an NHS body (within the meaning given by section 275(1) of the National Health Service 2006);

• “information technology equipment” includes any laptop or notebook computer, desktop computer, gaming console, handheld computing device, personal organiser or any electronic device containing a computer processor and capable of connecting to the internet, and any reference to information technology equipment includes a reference to– a component part of a device of that description; orany article designed or adapted for use with any information technology equipment (including any disk, film or other separate article on which images, sounds, computer code or other information may be stored or recorded);

• “inmate" means a person who is required to be detained in a young offender institution;

• “intercepted material" means the contents of any communication intercepted pursuant to these Rules;

• “legal adviser" means, in relation to an inmate, his counsel or solicitor, and includes a clerk acting on behalf of his solicitor;

• “minister appointed to a young offender institution" means a minister so appointed under section 10 of the Prison Act 1952;

• “officer" means an officer of a young offender institution;

• “payback punishment” means a requirement to complete unpaid work that is rehabilitative or reparative in nature;

• “pharmacy medicine” has the meaning given in regulation 8 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012;

• “prescription only medicine” has the meaning given in regulation 8 the Human Medicines Regulations 2012;

• “psychoactive substance” has the same meaning as in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016;

• ...

• ...

• ...

• “telecommunications system" means any system (including the apparatus comprised in it) which exists for the purpose of facilitating the transmission of communications by any means involving the use of electrical or electro-magnetic energy;

• “the 2003 Act” means the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

• “the 2020 Act” means the Coronavirus Act 2020;

• “transition period” means the period of 3 months starting on the date on which a transmission control period ends;

• “transmission control period” has the meaning given by paragraph 5 of Schedule 21 to the 2020 Act.

• (2) In these Rules a reference to—

• (a) an award of additional days means additional days awarded under these Rules by virtue of section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 or by virtue of section 257 of the 2003 Act;

• (b) the Church of England includes a reference to the Church of Wales; and

• (c) a reference to a numbered rule is, unless otherwise stated, a reference to the rule of that number in these Rules and a reference to a numbered paragraph is in a rule, unless otherwise stated, a reference to the paragraph of that number in that rule.

PART II — Inmates

General

Aims and general principles of young offender institutions

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• (1) The aim of a young offender institution shall be to help offenders to prepare for their return to the outside community.

• (2) The aim mentioned in paragraph (1) shall be achieved, in particular, by—

• (a) providing a programme of activities, including education, training and work designed to assist offenders to acquire or develop personal responsibility, self-discipline, physical fitness, interests and skills and to obtain suitable employment after release;

• (b) fostering links between the offender and the outside community; and

• (c) co-operating with the services responsible for the offender’s supervision after release.

Classification of inmates

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• (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (5), inmates may be classified, in accordance with any directions of the Secretary of State, taking into account their ages, characters and circumstances.

• (2) Except where paragraph (5) applies, an inmate who has the relevant deportation status must not be classified as suitable for open conditions.

• (3) If, immediately before the relevant time—

• (a) an inmate has been classified as suitable for open conditions; and

• (b) the young offender institution has received notice that the inmate has the relevant deportation status,

the inmate’s classification must be reconsidered in accordance with this rule as soon as practicable after the relevant time.

• (4) If—

• (a) an inmate has been classified as suitable for open conditions (whether before or after the relevant time); and

• (b) the young offender institution receives notice after the relevant time that the inmate has the relevant deportation status,

the inmate’s classification must be reconsidered in accordance with this rule as soon as practicable after the young offender institution receives that notice.

• (5) This paragraph applies if an inmate has been classified as suitable for open conditions and is located in open conditions immediately before the inmate’s classification is reconsidered, whether under paragraph (3) or (4) or otherwise.

• (6) For the purposes of this rule, an inmate has the relevant deportation status if—

• (a) there is a deportation order against the inmate under section 5(1) of the Immigration Act 1971; and

• (b) no appeal under section 82(1) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”) that may be brought or continued from within the United Kingdom in relation to the decision to make the deportation order—

• (i) could be brought (ignoring any possibility of an appeal out of time with permission), or

• (ii) is pending (within the meaning of section 104 of the 2002 Act).

• (7) In paragraph (6), the reference to the decision to make a deportation order includes a decision that section 32(5) of the UK Borders Act 2007 applies in respect of the inmate.

• (8) In this rule, “the relevant time” means 5.00 p.m on 13th August 2014.

Release

Temporary release

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• (1) Subject to paragraph (1A), the Secretary of State may, in accordance with the other provisions of this rule, release temporarily an inmate to whom this rule applies.

• (1A) An inmate who has the relevant deportation status must not be released under this rule unless the inmate is located in open conditions immediately before the time of release.

• (2) An inmate may be released under this rule for any period or periods and subject to any conditions.

• (3) An inmate may only be released under this rule:

• (a) on compassionate grounds or for the purpose of receiving medical treatment;

• (b) to engage in employment or voluntary work;

• (c) to receive instruction or training which cannot reasonably be provided in the young offender institution;

• (d) to enable him to participate in any proceedings before any court, tribunal or inquiry;

• (e) to enable him to consult with his legal adviser in circumstances where it is not reasonably practicable for the consultation to take place in the young offender institution;

• (f) to assist any police officer in any enquiries;

• (g) to facilitate the inmate’s transfer between the young offender institution and another penal establishment;

• (h) to assist him in maintaining family ties or in his transition from life in the young offender institution to freedom; or

• (i) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) An inmate shall not be released under this rule unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that there would not be an unacceptable risk of his committing offences whilst released or otherwise of his failing to comply with any condition upon which he is released.

• (5) Where at any time an offender is subject concurrently:

• (a) to a detention and training order; and

• (b) to a sentence of detention in a young offender institution,

he shall be treated for the purposes of paragraphs (6) and (7) as if he were subject only to the one of them that was imposed on the later occasion.

• (6) The Secretary of State shall not release under this rule an inmate if, having regard to:

• (a) the period or proportion of his sentence which the inmate has served or, in a case where paragraph (10) does not apply to require all the sentences he is serving to be treated as a single term, the period or proportion of any such sentence he has served; and

• (b) the frequency with which the inmate has been granted temporary release under this rule,

the Secretary of State is of the opinion that the release of the inmate would be likely to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.

• (7) If an inmate has been temporarily released under this rule during the relevant period and has been sentenced to any period of detention, custody or imprisonment for a criminal offence committed whilst at large following that release, he shall not be released under this rule unless his release, having regard to the circumstances of his conviction, would not, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, be likely to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice; and for this purpose “the relevant period":

• (a) in the case of an inmate serving a determinate sentence of imprisonment, detention or custody, is the period he has served in respect of that sentence, unless, notwithstanding paragraph (10), the sentences he is serving do not fall to be treated as a single term, in which case it is the period since he was last released in relation to one of those sentences under Part II of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act") or section 100 of the Powers of the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (“the 2000 Act") or Chapter 6 of Part 12 of the 2003 Act or by virtue of section 233 of the Sentencing Code; or

• (b) in the case of an inmate serving an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment, detention or custody, is, if the inmate has previously been released on licence under Part II of the 1991 Act or Part II of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 or Chapter 6 of Part 12 of the 2003 Act, the period since the date of his last recall to a penal establishment in respect of that sentence or, where the inmate has not been so released, the period he has served in respect of that sentence,

save that where an inmate falls within both of sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) above, the “relevant period", in the case of that inmate, shall be determined by whichever of the applicable sub-paragraphs that produces the longer period.

• (8) An inmate released under this rule may be recalled at any time whether the conditions of his release have been broken or not.

• (8A) If, immediately before the relevant time, an inmate has been released under this rule and the young offender institution has received notice that the inmate has the relevant deportation status, the inmate must be recalled unless—

• (a) the period for which the inmate has been released is due to expire on 13th August 2014; or

• (b) the inmate was released from open conditions.

• (8B) If an inmate has been released under this rule (whether before or after the relevant time) and the young offender institution receives notice after the relevant time that the inmate has the relevant deportation status, the inmate must be recalled unless—

• (a) the period for which the inmate has been released is due to expire on the day on which the young offender institution receives that notice; or

• (b) the inmate was released from open conditions.

• (9) This rule applies to inmates other than persons committed in custody for trial or to be sentenced or otherwise dealt with before or by the Crown Court or remanded in custody by any court.

• (10) For the purposes of any reference in this rule to an inmate’s sentence, consecutive terms and terms which are wholly or partly concurrent shall be treated as a single term.

• (11) In this rule, any reference to release on licence under Part II of the 1991 Act includes any release on licence under any earlier legislation providing for early release on licence.

• (12) In this rule—

• (a) any reference to an inmate who has the relevant deportation status is to be read in accordance with rule 4(6) and (7); and

• (b) any reference to the relevant time is to be read in accordance with rule 4(8).

Conditions

Privileges

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• (1) There shall be established at every young offender institution systems of privileges ... appropriate to the classes of inmates thereof and their ages, characters and circumstances, which shall include arrangements under which money earned by inmates may be spent by them within the young offender institution.

• (2) Systems of privileges established under paragraph (1) may include arrangements under which inmates may be allowed time outside the cells and in association with one another, in excess of the minimum time which, subject to the other provisions of these Rules apart from this rule, is otherwise allowed to inmates at the young offender institution for this purpose.

• (3) Systems of privileges established under paragraph (1) may include arrangements under which privileges may be granted to inmates only in so far as they have met, and for so long as they continue to meet, specified standards in their behaviour and their performance in work or other activities.

• (4) Systems of privileges which include arrangements of the kind referred to in paragraph (3) shall include procedures to be followed in determining whether or not any of the privileges concerned shall be granted, or shall continue to be granted, to an inmate; such procedures shall include a requirement that the inmate be given reasons for any decision adverse to him together with a statement of the means by which he may appeal against it.

• (5) Nothing in this rule shall be taken to confer on an inmate any entitlement to any privilege or to affect any provision in these Rules other than this rule as a result of which any privilege may be forfeited or otherwise lost or an inmate deprived of association with other inmates.

Information to inmates

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• (1) Every inmate shall be provided, as soon as possible after his reception into the young offender institution, and in any case within 24 hours, with information in writing about those provisions of these Rules and other matters which it is necessary that he should know, including earnings and privileges, and the proper method of making requests and complaints.

• (2) In the case of an inmate aged under 18, or an inmate aged 18 or over who cannot read or appears to have difficulty in understanding the information so provided, the governor, or an officer deputed by him, shall so explain it to him that he can understand his rights and obligations.

• (3) A copy of these Rules shall be made available to any inmate who requests it.

Requests and complaints

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• (1) An inmate may make a request or complaint to the governor or independent monitoring board relating to the inmate’s detention.

• (2) ... The governor shall consider as soon as possible any requests and complaints that are made to him under paragraph (1).

• (3) A written request or complaint under paragraph (1) may be made in confidence.

Communications generally

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• (1) Without prejudice to sections 6 and 19 of the Prison Act 1952 and except as provided by these Rules, an inmate shall not be permitted to communicate with any person outside the young offender institution, or such person with him, except with the leave of the Secretary of State or as a privilege under rule 7.