Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996

The Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The purpose of the Act was to allow the government to apply deductions and levies on the earnings of prisoners in respect of work carried by the prisoner during his period of detention. The Act was not implemented until 2011.

Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to authorise deductions from or levies on prisoners' earnings; to provide for the application of such deductions or levies; and for connected purposes
Citation1996 c. 33
Territorial extentEngland and Wales, Scotland
Dates
Royal assent18 July 1996
Commencement26 September 2011[1]
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

Provisions

Thus when a prisoner carries out any task or duty within the prison, such as catering or cleaning, and receives payment for this, the Government may subject the earnings to deductions for: income tax, national insurance, court order payments, and child maintenance. The monies raised from the deductions and levies are to be used for: payments to voluntary organisations concerned with crime support and prevention; payments to the Consolidated Fund to help pay for the cost of prisons; payments to any of the prisoner's dependants; or payments to an investment account on behalf of the prisoner for their benefit on release. The Act only applies in Great Britain and has no application in Northern Ireland.[2]

History

The Act was passed in 1996; it received Royal Assent in July of that year, and was expected to be implemented in spring 1997.[3] However, it was not put into force before the 1997 general election. In 2000 the Home Office reported it was studying implementing the Act,[4] whilst in 2008 the Ministry of Justice announced that the complicated nature of the Act suggested it would cost an unreasonable amount to administer.[5]

The Conservative Party stated their intention to implement the Act in their manifesto for the 2010 general election,[6] and secured an agreement with the Liberal Democrats to make it part of their joint coalition agreement.[7] A statutory instrument dated 5 July specified 26 September 2011 as the commencement date for the Act.[1]

As implemented September 2011, the Act will result in a 40% pay cut for 500 prisoners, and is expected to raise up to £1m a year.[8]

See also

Notes
  1. The Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996 (Commencement) (England and Wales) Order 2011
  2. Text of the Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996
  3. "Prisoners Earnings (1996)". Written-Answers. Historic Hansard. 13 November 1996. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  4. "Prisoners Earnings Act 1996 (2000)". House of Commons. Historic Hansard. 8 May 2000. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  5. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080221/text/80221w0042.htm
  6. http://makejusticework.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/2010-manifestos.pdf%5B%5D
  7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-19. Retrieved 2014-08-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Prisoners' wages to help crime victims". BBC News Online. 26 September 2011.
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