Sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection

Baroness Ludford Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Timpson (Lab)]

The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which I have mentioned, introduced a new power to enable the Secretary of State to release recalled IPP and DPP prisoners using a risk-assessed recall review where safe to do so, without the offender requiring a release decision from the Parole Board. We now consider every recalled IPP and DPP offender for RARR, as it is called. This has already been used to enable swifter release and, in some cases, we have seen recalled IPP prisoners released several months ahead of their parole hearing. The noble Lord will know that not everyone who is recalled to prison is an IPP prisoner, but 30% of IPP recalls are because of a further charge for an alleged offence.

[Baroness Ludford (LD)]

My Lords, the Government decline to do anything radical to end the Orwellian system of IPP sentences because they are concerned about public protection. Obviously, we all are, but there is no absolute guarantee that non-IPP prisoners will never reoffend. Why, then, do the Government pursue this unrealistic goal for IPP prisoners, thereby trapping them in a limbo that is rightly described—not only by my noble friend but across the political spectrum—as a terrible stain on our criminal justice system?

[Lord Timpson (Lab)]

I agree with the noble Baroness that it is a terrible stain on our justice system. In the job that I am doing, it is my job to make sure that as many IPP-sentenced prisoners engage with the action plan, get released, stay out and not come back. In 2024, the number of IPP unreleased fell by 182, and recalls fell by 83, but noble Lords will, I am sure, be aware that we are dealing with a number of issues in our prisons at the moment to do with a lack of capacity. We are battling to make sure that we get prisoners in the right prison to engage with the action plan, and hopefully they will get out and stay out.