Sentencing Act 1995

The purpose of a programme requirement is —

to allow for any personal factors which contributed to the offender’s criminal behaviour to be assessed; and

to provide an opportunity for the offender to recognise, to take steps to control and, if necessary, to receive appropriate treatment for those factors.

The programme requirement is a requirement that the offender must obey the orders of a speciality court or a CCO as to —

undergoing assessment by a medical practitioner, a psychiatrist, a psychologist or a social worker, or more than one of them and, if necessary, appropriate treatment;

undergoing assessment and, if necessary, appropriate treatment in relation to the abuse of alcohol, drugs or other substances;

attending educational, vocational, or personal development programmes or courses;

residing at a specified place for the purposes of any matter in paragraph (a), (b) or (c);

more than one of the above.

A speciality court or a CCO must not order an offender to undergo treatment of any sort unless a person qualified to recommend or administer the treatment has recommended that the offender undergo such treatment.

A person is not to administer treatment of any sort mentioned in subsection (2) to an offender without the informed consent of the offender.

The requirements of a programme requirement imposed as part of a PSO are additional to the requirements of any other programme requirement applicable to the offender under another PSO or a community order or a sentence of CSI.

A programme requirement ceases to be in force when a speciality court or a CCO gives the offender notice to that effect, or the PSO ceases to be in force, whichever happens first.

A CCO must not give notice unless satisfied that the offender has complied with the programme requirement.