PAS has recently been granted permission to pursue to Judicial Review a case around deductions to prisoners’ earnings

, a case in which it is representing two clients at different prisons.

This case arises directly from the enactment in 2011 of the Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996 (through Prison Service Instruction 48/2011). This Act means that prisoners working for external employers will be subject to a 40% net income levy on earnings over £20 per week, a levy that will be paid to the charity Victim Support.

As a result, many prisoners have been placed in a position where they are no longer able to save money in preparation for their release, funds that will be needed to go towards housing and other living costs. Therefore the newly-introduced Act poses a grave threat to rehabilitation in many cases, including those which PAS is currently pursuing.