The Secretary of State may make arrangements for any of the functions specified in subsection (2) below (“escort functions”) to be performed in such cases as may be determined by or under the arrangements by prisoner custody officers who are authorised to perform such functions.
Those functions are—
In paragraph (a) of subsection (2) above, “relevant premises” means—
and either (but not both) of the sets of premises mentioned in that paragraph may be situated in a part of the British Islands outside Scotland.
Arrangements made by the Secretary of State under this section (“prisoner escort arrangements”) may include entering into contracts with other persons for the provision by them of prisoner custody officers.
Any person who, under a warrant or hospital order, is responsible for the performance of any such function as is mentioned in subsection (2) above shall be deemed to have complied with that warrant or order if he does all that he reasonably can to secure that the function is performed by a prisoner custody officer acting in pursuance of prisoner escort arrangements or by a police custody and security officer in the performance of functions under section 28 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 8).
In this section—
“hospital” has the same meaning as in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003;
“hospital order” means an order for a person’s detention in, or admission to and detention in, a hospital under section 52D, 52M, 53, 54 or 57A of the Act of 1995 ...; and
“warrant” means a warrant for committal, a warrant for arrest, a transfer for treatment direction under section 136 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 or any other warrant, order or direction under the Act of 1995 or the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 requiring a person to be taken to a particular place.