The Ministry of Justice has laid new prison discipline rules for England and Wales that will come into force on 2 September 2026. The instrument, the Prison (Governor’s and Adjudicators’ Punishments) (Amendment) Rules 2026, was made on 17 June 2026 and laid before Parliament on 22 June 2026 under section 47(1) of the Prison Act 1952. In practical terms, the changes widen the sanctions available after a prisoner is found guilty of an offence against discipline under rule 51 of the Prison Rules 1999. The amendments affect governors’ punishments, adjudicators’ punishments, social visit restrictions, rules for young persons and several cross-references within the 1999 framework.
The most immediate operational change is in rule 55 of the Prison Rules 1999, which governs punishments available to a governor. According to the statutory instrument, the maximum period for forfeiture of privileges rises from 42 days to 84 days. That doubles the upper limit currently available for one of the main internal disciplinary sanctions. The same amendment also adds two new punishments for convicted prisoners linked to social visits. A governor will be able to order forfeiture of social visits for up to 27 days, or restrict social visits to one visit in every 28-day period for up to 84 days. The instrument is specific that these sanctions apply only to convicted prisoners, not to all prisoners as a class.
The visit restriction power is not absolute. The new rule 55(2A) states that neither of the new social visit punishments applies to visits from a prisoner’s child, or from an adult appropriately accompanying that child. The Rules define a child of the prisoner as a person under 18 where the prisoner is a parent or has parental responsibility within the meaning of section 3 of the Children Act 1989. The instrument also defines a social visit for this purpose as an in-person visit that is not made by a person acting in a professional or official capacity. That matters because it separates family and personal contact from legal, official or welfare-related access, and it preserves a clear protection for child contact even where a disciplinary sanction has been imposed.
A linked amendment is made to rule 35 on personal letters and visits. The new wording provides that the ordinary position on visits operates subject to the new punishments in rule 55(1)(j) and (k). In effect, rule 35 is adjusted so that the new visit sanctions can work within the existing visits framework rather than sitting outside it. For prison managers, this means local practice and adjudication paperwork will need to reflect the interaction between the general visits rule and the new disciplinary sanctions. For families and advocacy groups, the key point is that child visits remain carved out from the new restrictions where the statutory conditions are met.
The Rules also expand the powers of adjudicators under rule 55A. The explanatory note states that the maximum number of added days that may be imposed for an offence against discipline rises from 42 days to 84 days. Related drafting changes also bring the new social visit punishments into the adjudicator framework. This is a material increase in the severity available through internal prison discipline. In practice, adjudicators and prison legal teams will need to distinguish carefully between the sanctions available to governors, the sanctions available on adjudication, and the prisoner categories to which each punishment can lawfully apply.
Separate protections remain in place for young persons. The amendment to rule 57 states that a punishment relating to social visits under rule 55(1)(j) or (k) must not be imposed for offences committed by young persons. It also fixes the maximum period for an award of additional days in such cases at 42 days rather than 84 days. Alongside that policy choice, the instrument updates legislative references in rule 57, replacing an older reference to section 13(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 with section 329 of the Sentencing Code and making further consequential textual changes. The result is that the sanctions regime is strengthened for adult cases while keeping tighter limits for young persons.
A final technical amendment updates rule 59 on prospective awards of additional days, replacing a reference to section 240 with section 240ZA. This does not create a new punishment, but it brings the text into line with the current statutory framework. The commencement provision is also important. Rule 8 states that the amendments in rules 3 to 6 apply only where the offence against discipline is committed on or after 2 September 2026. That means prisons will need to apply the previous regime to earlier conduct, even if the hearing or decision takes place after commencement.
The Explanatory Note says no impact assessment has been produced because no significant effect on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen. Even so, the policy effect inside prisons is clear. Governors and adjudicators will have access to longer and broader disciplinary sanctions, including new controls on social visits for convicted prisoners, while the Rules preserve explicit protection for visits involving prisoners’ children. For practitioners, the main compliance points are the new commencement date, the doubling of the 42-day limit to 84 days in key areas, the creation of two visit-based punishments, and the statutory exceptions for children and young persons. Those details are likely to shape prison adjudication practice from early September 2026.