Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of the rapists and child groomers released early under the scheme were notified in advance through the Victim Contact Scheme in the constituency of Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse, and we are fixing this crisis. Through the introduction of the landmark Sentencing Act 2026, we are ensuring that courts retain the ability to impose custodial sentences on serious and dangerous offenders. Without these measures, the Prison Estate would have faced the risk of exhausting available capacity and police forces being unable to make arrests.

The Sentencing Act 2026 contains provisions will which change the proportion of a standard determinate sentence which must be served in prison before the offender serving such a sentence is released automatically on licence. More than 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences are excluded from these changes and will stay in prison for as long as they do now.

The provisions will come into force on 2 September 2026 and may affect the scheduled release dates of those currently serving a standard determinate sentence. Eligible victims who have opted into the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, where the offender is serving a standard determinate sentence, have been informed of the commencement of the legislation.

Sentences are now being recalculated, and, at this stage, we cannot provide figures on the number of offenders whose release dates will change and, therefore, the number of victims impacted. This will continue to evolve whilst the calculations take place. Victim Liaison Officers will write to victims again to confirm whether the offender’s release date has changed as a result of the new arrangements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of people convicted of (a) rape and (b) sexual offences involving children that will be released under the early release scheme in the next five years in Stone, Great Wyrley & Penkridge constituency.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

I extend my sincere sympathy to all victims of these appalling crimes. This Government inherited a prisons system days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Our landmark Sentencing Act 2026 will now deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis we inherited, including through the progression model which will help ensure there are always enough places for the courts to be able to send people to custody in order to keep the public safe. The worst thing for victims would be running out of prison space and not being able to lock up dangerous offenders.

The progression model amends release points for offenders on Standard Determinate Sentences.

Over 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences like extended Determinate Sentences or life sentences will be unaffected by these reforms and will be kept in prison for as long as they are now. Once released, offenders will be managed under strict licence conditions in the community. Offenders released on licence can be recalled if they breach their conditions or if they cannot be safely managed in the community.

It is not possible to estimate sufficiently accurately the number of future releases so far in advance because of the uncertainty of the volume of eligible offenders who will be sentenced to prison in the next 5 years, nor can we estimate any added days for bad behaviour committed which will determine their release point.

The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes Accredited Official Statistics on prisoner releases as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 are excluded from eligibility for the early release scheme.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

I extend my sincere sympathy to all victims of these appalling crimes. This Government inherited a prisons system days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Our landmark Sentencing Act 2026 will now deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis we inherited, including through the progression model which will help ensure there are always enough places for the courts to be able to send people to custody in order to keep the public safe. The worst thing for victims would be running out of prison space and not being able to lock up dangerous offenders.

The progression model amends release points for offenders on Standard Determinate Sentences.

Over 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences like extended Determinate Sentences or life sentences will be unaffected by these reforms and will be kept in prison for as long as they are now. Once released, offenders will be managed under strict licence conditions in the community. Offenders released on licence can be recalled if they breach their conditions or if they cannot be safely managed in the community.

It is not possible to estimate sufficiently accurately the number of future releases so far in advance because of the uncertainty of the volume of eligible offenders who will be sentenced to prison in the next 5 years, nor can we estimate any added days for bad behaviour committed which will determine their release point.

The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes Accredited Official Statistics on prisoner releases as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication.

Deaths of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough

Found: Thornberry (Labour; Islington South and Finsbury) Derek Twigg (Labour; Widnes and Halewood) Sir Gavin Williamson

Found: Courance; Mike Martin; Lord Sedwill; Baroness Tyler of Enfield; Lord Tunnicliffe; Lord Watts, Sir Gavin Williamson

Found: Courance; Mike Martin; Lord Sedwill; Baroness Tyler of Enfield; Lord Tunnicliffe; Lord Watts, Sir Gavin Williamson

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