Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the average tariff length in months for murder was in (1) 2022, and (2) 2023.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested in PQ HL1418 can be found in the attached table.
The information requested in PQ HL1419 is set out as follows:
The average (mean) tariff for murderers (excluding whole life cases) sentenced in 2022 is 257 months and 2023 is 264 months. Tariff information for 2023 is a subset of data published on 25 January 2024. It is subject to change – please see information under Data sources and quality.
Year of Sentence | Mean Tariff (months) |
2022 | 257 |
2023* | 270 |
Data sources and quality
Note that the minimum term is the time between date of sentence and tariff expiry date. The numbers are subject to revision as more data become available; any changes in the numbers since the last publication of this information is as a result of more sentencing data becoming available.
The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
The figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
*2023 has some missing tariff information. This PQ response gives provisional information and is subject to change as more tariff information comes in.
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many, and what proportion of, prisons holding young adults are (1) using the HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) maturity screening tool, and (2) using the HMPPS Choices and Changes resource pack.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The number of prisons screening for maturity continues to increase. As of December 2023, 88 out of 108 prisons (81 per cent) reported that they were screening for maturity. Screening was conducted using either the screening tool, or the Offender Management System (OASys), or a combination of both. 13 sites were using the screening tool alone.
67 prisons (62 per cent) reported using the Choices and Changes resource pack. Further work is in progress to support establishments to develop their delivery of the resource pack.
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people currently in prison aged 80 or older are serving a sentence they originally received when aged (1) 15 to 17, (2) 18 to 20, (3) 21 to 24, (4) 25 to 29, (5) 30 to 39, (6) 40 to 49, (7) 50 to 59, (8) 60 to 69, and (9) 70 and older.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The data requested are in the attached tables.
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners serving (1) determinate, and (2) indeterminate, sentences have been granted compassionate release from prison on the grounds of ill-health in each year since 2019.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The number of prisoners granted compassionate release under the Early Release on Compassionate Grounds policy is as follows:
Year | Indeterminate releases | Determinate releases |
2019 | 1 | 10 |
2020 | 2 | 11 |
2021 | 2 | 9 |
2022 | 0 | 1 |
2023 (to end June) | 0 | 1 |
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) males, and (2) females, aged (a) 15 to 17, (b) 18 to 20, (c) 21 to 24, (d) 25 to 29, (e) 30 to 39, (f) 40 to 49, (g) 50 to 59, (h) 60 to 69, (i) 70 to 79, and (j) 80 and older, are currently in prison, broken down by offence category.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The data requested are in the attached tables.
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) male, and (2) female, prisoners who were aged 25 years or younger at the time of sentencing, were serving a life sentence in custody with a tariff of 15 years or more, split by ethnic group, in each year since 2021; and of these how many were (a) unreleased, or (b) recalled.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested in PQ HL1418 can be found in the attached table.
The information requested in PQ HL1419 is set out as follows:
The average (mean) tariff for murderers (excluding whole life cases) sentenced in 2022 is 257 months and 2023 is 264 months. Tariff information for 2023 is a subset of data published on 25 January 2024. It is subject to change – please see information under Data sources and quality.
Year of Sentence | Mean Tariff (months) |
2022 | 257 |
2023* | 270 |
Data sources and quality
Note that the minimum term is the time between date of sentence and tariff expiry date. The numbers are subject to revision as more data become available; any changes in the numbers since the last publication of this information is as a result of more sentencing data becoming available.
The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
The figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
*2023 has some missing tariff information. This PQ response gives provisional information and is subject to change as more tariff information comes in.
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the date of the last two meetings of each Local Criminal Justice Board.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information. Local Criminal Justice Boards are voluntary partnerships and are not governed by statute and are not an executive body. We do not therefore keep a record of meeting dates.
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any Local Criminal Justice Boards have achieved the recommendation in the National Guidance for Local Criminal Justice Boards that they meet at least quarterly, for the past year for which information is available; and if so, which boards met this target.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information. Local Criminal Justice Boards are voluntary partnerships and are not governed by statute and are not an executive body. We do not therefore keep a record of meeting dates.
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the last Criminal Justice Board meeting took place; and when the next one will take place.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Criminal Justice Board last met on 12 July 2021. We are looking to hold the next meeting later this year.
Asked by: Lord Garnier (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Local Criminal Justice Boards there are in (1) England, and (2) Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
There are 41 Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) in total, 37 in England and 4 in Wales.
Information on the running and membership of LCJBs can be found in the National Guidance at: National Guidance for Local Criminal Justice Boards (publishing.service.gov.uk).