Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support his Department provides (a) prison governors and (b) the probation service on identifying suitable prisons for release via the early release scheme.

Central HMPPS teams identify the prisoners who are potentially eligible for release on End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) and provide this to the relevant prisons and to the probation service.

Extensive operational guidance on ECSL is issued to prisons and probation to guide them through the process and eligibility criteria. There is also an operational support helpline that prison and probation practitioners can call should they want additional support in confirming eligible cases or have any other questions about ECSL. For cases where there are concerns about heightened risk as a result of release before the automatic release point, the exemption panel of senior HMPPS leaders deals with cases that are escalated for a decision.