Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what forecast they have made of the number of people who will be in prison serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence having never been released from custody, in each of the next five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. By law, prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined.
The HM Prison and Probation Service IPP Action Plan remains the route by which IPP offenders can be supported to progress towards safe release. As per the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s report on the IPP sentence, work to refresh the Action Plan is already underway.
The modelling of the IPP population will be revised to take account of any potential impact delivered through the refreshed IPP Action Plan, due to be published at the end of March. The Action Plan promotes the progression of offenders serving the IPP sentence. Future prison population forecasts will factor in the impact of the refreshed Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what forecast they have made of the number of (1) first releases from custody, (2) recalls to custody, and (3) re-releases from custody having been recalled, of people serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence, in each of the next five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. By law, prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined.
The HM Prison and Probation Service IPP Action Plan remains the route by which IPP offenders can be supported to progress towards safe release. As per the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s report on the IPP sentence, work to refresh the Action Plan is already underway.
The modelling of the IPP population will be revised to take account of any potential impact delivered through the refreshed IPP Action Plan, due to be published at the end of March. The Action Plan promotes the progression of offenders serving the IPP sentence. Future prison population forecasts will factor in the impact of the refreshed Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what forecast they have made of the number of people who will be in prison serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence, in each of the next five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. By law, prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined.
The HM Prison and Probation Service IPP Action Plan remains the route by which IPP offenders can be supported to progress towards safe release. As per the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s report on the IPP sentence, work to refresh the Action Plan is already underway.
The modelling of the IPP population will be revised to take account of any potential impact delivered through the refreshed IPP Action Plan, due to be published at the end of March. The Action Plan promotes the progression of offenders serving the IPP sentence. Future prison population forecasts will factor in the impact of the refreshed Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people currently in prison serving an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (1) have never been released, and (2) have been recalled; and for each of those groups, how many were sentenced under (a) the original provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 unamended by any subsequent Act, and (b) the provisions of the 2003 Act as amended by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. By law, prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined.
The amendment to the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) in relation to sentencing a person convicted of a relevant specified offence to Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (the 2008 Act), commenced on 14 July 2008. It is not possible to split the sentencing data provided below by that specific date, as it can be extracted from all data only within a single month. A separate figure has been provided for July 2008 alone as this may include cases where individuals were sentenced under either the original provisions of the 2003 Act or as amended by the 2008 Act.
The following table shows the total number of offenders who received an IPP sentence, on a principal offence basis, between the commencement and abolishment of the sentence, in England and Wales [1] [2] [3]:
Year | Count | Total |
2005 | 426 | 426 |
2006 | 1445 | 1445 |
2007 | 1707 | 1707 |
2008* | 947 (January to June) | 1538 |
122 (July) | ||
469 (August to December) | ||
2009 | 1001 | 1001 |
2010 | 1019 | 1019 |
2011 | 819 | 819 |
2012 | 747 | 747 |
2013 | 9 | 9 |
Source: Court Proceedings Database
* The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 amendments commenced on 14 July 2008.
The following table shows the number of people currently in prison serving an IPP sentence who (1) have never been released, and (2) have been recalled; and for each of those groups, how many were sentenced under (a) the original provisions of the 2003 Act unamended by any subsequent Act, and (b) the provisions of the 2003 Act as amended by the 2008 Act [1]:
| Sentenced under CJA 2003 unamended (before 14 July 2008) |
| ||
Status | Yes | No | Unknown** | Total |
Recalled IPP*** | 897 | 556 | - | 1,453 |
Unreleased IPP*** | 553 | 883 | 1 | 1,437 |
Total | 1,450 | 1,439 | 1 | 2,890 |
** Date of sentence could not be located.
*** Figures as of 30 September 2022.
Notes:
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that this data has been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts or prison service. Consequently, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
The figures given in the tables relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Data are given on a principal disposal basis - i.e. reporting the most severe sentence for the principal offence.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people received an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection in total; and of those, how many were sentenced under (1) the original provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 unamended by any subsequent Act, and (2) the provisions of the 2003 Act as amended by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. By law, prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined.
The amendment to the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) in relation to sentencing a person convicted of a relevant specified offence to Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (the 2008 Act), commenced on 14 July 2008. It is not possible to split the sentencing data provided below by that specific date, as it can be extracted from all data only within a single month. A separate figure has been provided for July 2008 alone as this may include cases where individuals were sentenced under either the original provisions of the 2003 Act or as amended by the 2008 Act.
The following table shows the total number of offenders who received an IPP sentence, on a principal offence basis, between the commencement and abolishment of the sentence, in England and Wales [1] [2] [3]:
Year | Count | Total |
2005 | 426 | 426 |
2006 | 1445 | 1445 |
2007 | 1707 | 1707 |
2008* | 947 (January to June) | 1538 |
122 (July) | ||
469 (August to December) | ||
2009 | 1001 | 1001 |
2010 | 1019 | 1019 |
2011 | 819 | 819 |
2012 | 747 | 747 |
2013 | 9 | 9 |
Source: Court Proceedings Database
* The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 amendments commenced on 14 July 2008.
The following table shows the number of people currently in prison serving an IPP sentence who (1) have never been released, and (2) have been recalled; and for each of those groups, how many were sentenced under (a) the original provisions of the 2003 Act unamended by any subsequent Act, and (b) the provisions of the 2003 Act as amended by the 2008 Act [1]:
| Sentenced under CJA 2003 unamended (before 14 July 2008) |
| ||
Status | Yes | No | Unknown** | Total |
Recalled IPP*** | 897 | 556 | - | 1,453 |
Unreleased IPP*** | 553 | 883 | 1 | 1,437 |
Total | 1,450 | 1,439 | 1 | 2,890 |
** Date of sentence could not be located.
*** Figures as of 30 September 2022.
Notes:
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that this data has been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts or prison service. Consequently, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
The figures given in the tables relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Data are given on a principal disposal basis - i.e. reporting the most severe sentence for the principal offence.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign nationals serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) were released under the Tariff-Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) in the financial years (1) 2020/2021, and (2) 2021/2022; how long was the tariff for each prisoner; and how many years beyond tariff each prisoner had served at point of release.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) applies to foreign national offenders serving an indeterminate sentence. Section 32A of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 provides the Secretary of State with the power to approve the removal of a prisoner for the purposes of deportation once the minimum tariff date has expired and without the Parole Board directing release. A prisoner is not released from their sentence and is liable to continue to serve the sentence if they return to the UK.
There were six foreign national offenders serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) removed under TERS, three in each financial year. The tariff lengths for these prisoners were one of ten years, three of eight years, and two of seven years. Four prisoners were removed between one- and two-years post-tariff and two were removed less than one-year post-tariff. The data apply solely to IPP offenders and only include those cases where the Home Office has confirmed their removal.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence are currently on licence in the community, broken down by the number of years since they were first released from custody.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As of June 2022, 3,251 offenders serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence were on licence in the community. The following table shows this figure broken down by the number of years since they were first released from custody*.
Table 1: Imprisonment for Public Protection offenders on licence in the community, by the number of years since they were first released from custody, as at 30 June 2022, England and Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
*Data Caveats:
|
Once 10 years have elapsed since an offender serving an IPP sentence was first released, the Secretary of State will refer the offender to the Parole Board, for the Board to consider whether to terminate the offender’s IPP licence. The Parole Board will then determine whether it is necessary for the protection of the public that the offender remains subject to an IPP licence. If the Parole Board decides not to terminate the offender’s IPP licence, the Secretary of State will re-refer the offender to the Parole Board every 12 months.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence are currently on licence in the community; and of those, how many have had their supervision requirement terminated, broken down by the number of years since they were first released from custody.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
All IPP offenders are released on an IPP licence for a minimum period of 10 years. The Probation Service may apply to the Parole Board for the suspension of the supervisory conditions on an offender’s IPP licence only after the offender has completed five years of continuous, trouble-free resettlement and good behaviour in the community (other than in exceptional circumstances). The Parole Board is responsible for making the final decision on whether supervision should be suspended.
As of March 2022, 3,258 offenders, serving an IPP sentence, were on licence in the community. Of these, 172 offenders serving an IPP sentence have had their supervision requirement suspended. The following table shows this figure broken down by the number of years since they were first released from custody*.
Years since first release from custody | Count of IPP cases where the supervision requirement is terminated |
4 | 3 |
5 | 4 |
6 | 9 |
7 | 12 |
8 | 47 |
9 | 42 |
10 | 30 |
11 | 13 |
12 | 5 |
13 | 6 |
14 | 1 |
Grand Total | 172 |
*Data Caveats: