Scottish prisons follow their own set of rules – the Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011, made under the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989. These are separate from the Prison Rules used in England & Wales.
These rules cover pretty much everything: how prisons are run day-to-day, and what rights and responsibilities prisoners have. In 2025, the Scottish Prison Service published a plain-English version of the rules for the first time – which makes them a lot easier for prisoners and families to actually understand.
Each prison also has its own local rules and guidance that sit within this framework, so exactly how things work day-to-day can vary a little from one prison to another.
England & Wales, by contrast, has its own separate Prison Rules, plus a large body of internal Prison Service Instructions (PSIs) and Orders (PSOs) – none of which apply in Scotland.