Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference his Oral Statement of 16 October 2023 on Prison Capacity, Official Report, column 68, whether he (a) has had and (b) plans to have discussions with the Parole Board on the process for reviewing sentences of imprisonment for public protection; how such cases will be prioritised for review; and what consideration will be given to length of sentence served.

The Government’s view is that retrospectively changing the sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) which was lawfully passed would give rise to unacceptable risks to the public protection. It would inevitably result in the release of many offenders who have committed serious sexual or violent offences, where the Parole Board has not assessed them as safe to be released.

However, it remains a priority for the His Majesty’s Government that all those serving the IPP sentence receive the support which they need to progress towards safe release from custody or, where they are being supervised on licence in the community, towards having their licence terminated altogether. In that respect, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, advised in his statement to this House on 16 October that he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences in line with recommendation 8 of the report by the Justice Select Committee’ (JSC) report, published on 28 September 2022. He will come back to the House on that in due course.

In the meantime, the Government continues to focus on the rehabilitation of IPP prisoners through a refreshed and updated Action Plan, published on 26 April 2023 as a response to the JSC’s report. The Plan provides a renewed focus on supporting those serving IPP sentences in both custody and the community, by ensuring that each prisoner has a robust and effective sentence plan, tailored to their individual needs, by to supporting those in the community on licence to comply with their conditions.

The independent Parole Board is responsible for considering whether prisoners serving indeterminate sentences are suitable for release following a referral of the prisoner’s case by the Secretary of State.

The priority given when listing cases for a review is a matter for the Parole Board which is independent of Government. The Lord Chancellor does, however, maintain regular engagement with the Parole Board to ensure that the parole process continues to be effectively managed and that HMPPS is accurately sharing information with the Parole Board in a timely manner.