R (oao Potter) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2001] EWHC Admin 1401

Citation: R (on the application of Potter) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2001] EWHC Admin 1401

Court: High Court (Queen's Bench Division, Administrative Court)

Decision

Potter relates to the Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme in prisons, which you can read about here.

Essentially, Potter clarified that the IEP scheme is not to be used to punish prisoners. It is not a form of discipline. Punitive use of the IEP system will render the decision as to a particular prisoner's IEP status vulnerable to challenge, either by written representations from the prisoner's solicitor, or ultimately through judicial review. Similarly, if a prisoner has been adhering to criteria relating to a certain privilege, taking that privilege away may constitute grounds for judicial review on the basis that the prisoner had a legitimate exception.