INTRODUCTION

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) responsible, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice, for commissioning and delivering prison and probation services in England and Wales. Northern Ireland and Scotland prison and probation services are managed separately from the NOMS. Women currently make up 5% of the prison population in England and Wales, and are held in 12 prisons across the country. Two of these are operated by private sector providers under contract.

The Secretary of State for Justice commissioned a review of the women's estate in January 2013. The report was published on the 25 October 2013 and recommended that the women's prison estate be reconfigured to ensure that women are kept as close to home as possible, with the right interventions and opportunities for meaningful resettlement. The review recommended the establishment of strategic hubs as near as possible to the major population centres, proposed the testing of open units at two women's prisons and the establishment of community employment regimes at every women's prison.

Prison Service Orders (PSOs) and Instructions (PSIs) convey mandatory actions to prison establishments. The policy for women's prisons can be found in PSO 4800 and PSI 49/2014.

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK

The United Kingdom (UK) is a member of the following international organisations:

NOMS is aware of the need to ensure that the Prison Rules continue to reflect domestic legislation, such as the Human Rights Act 1998 and other national standards, as well as meeting the obligations set out in the various international conventions to which the UK is a party. These Rules are made available in an open and transparent manner, and can be accessed on the Ministry of Justice website.

The UK is a party or a signatory to the following international instruments: