Parole Board and Victim Support

Kevin Foster Excerpts

Tuesday 9th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I hear what the hon. Lady says. When I set out the case for reviewing transparency, I referred to the reasons that the Parole Board gives for a particular decision being put in the public domain. I think that we need to consider precisely what information can be put into the public domain, and that is the purpose of the review.

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

As the Lord Chancellor knows, it is vital that justice is not only done but seen to be done. That is why judges hand down sentences and give the reasons for them in public, and it is why I think that the same should apply to the Parole Board, given what an important part of the process is involved. Will the Lord Chancellor commit himself to making a statement to the House when he has completed the review, outlining what action he then proposes to take?

[Mr Gauke]

The House would rightly expect me to keep it fully informed, and I certainly undertake to do that.