Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an extended determinate sentence have been released from prison; and of those, how many were released after their first Parole Board hearing in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The table below sets out the number of releases of prisoners serving an extended determinate sentence (EDS) who are eligible for release via parole as part of their EDS in each of the last five years in which full data are available.
Year of Release | Total EDS First-Time Releases | Total EDS Releases at First Hearing |
2017 | 143 | 55 |
2018 | 243 | 116 |
2019 | 352 | 137 |
2020 | 506 | 226 |
2021 | 533 | 220 |
Data sources and quality:
1. Some prisoners were released without accessing the parole process because they were deported or, exceptionally, left prison following early release on compassionate grounds
2. Some parole hearings were not completed as a result of the prisoner receiving a new sentence or being transferred to secure hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983.
3. Total figures in the table do not match published total releases for EDS offenders, as some EDS offenders are not eligible for release via parole as part of their EDS.
4. The figures in this table 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
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are currently in prison aged (1) 18 to 24, and (2) 25 to 29, broken down by ethnicity.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Relevant data are provided in the statistical publication Ethnicity and the Criminal Justice System. The most recent publication includes a snapshot of data for 30 June 2020. The relevant figures can be found in Table 6.01, which is reproduced in the attachment.
Data for 30 June 2021 and 30 June 2022 will be included in the next publication, which is scheduled for November 2023.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners are currently participating in higher education courses.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The latest available figures (October 2022) show that 1435 prisoners were studying with the Open University. In addition, 50 learners were enrolled on Access to Higher Education courses, with support from the Prisoners’ Education Trust.
We have recently changed the law to allow prisoners to begin apprenticeships whilst in custody, working in key industries such as hospitality and construction.
Information on the support available for prisoners wishing to undertake Higher Education is available in prison libraries.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are currently in prison who have been held on remand for longer than (1) six months, (2) one year, and (3) two years, broken down by offence category.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The number of people who had been held in prison on remand for longer than six months, one year and two years on 31 December 2021, also broken down by offence group, is provided in the attached tables.
The department’s latest prison population data as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly is available up to 30 September 2022 and can be found here: Offender Management Statistics quarterly: April to June 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in prison had been held on remand for longer than (1) six months, (2) one year, and (3) two years, on (a) 31 December 2021, and (b) up to the current date.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The number of people who had been held in prison on remand for longer than six months, one year and two years on 31 December 2021, also broken down by offence group, is provided in the attached tables.
The department’s latest prison population data as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly is available up to 30 September 2022 and can be found here: Offender Management Statistics quarterly: April to June 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - 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)
Please find the requested information in the attached data tables.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - 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)
Please find the requested information in the attached data tables.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the finding in the HM Inspectorate and Probation report Offender Management in Custody, published on 2 November, that only 25 per cent of keywork sessions were delivered against the prescribed model in May, what is the current rate of the delivery of keywork sessions in each of the prisons where staff have been authorised to carry PAVA spray.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has been rolling out PAVA incapacitant spray to all band 3-5 staff in the adult closed male estate and this is still under way. Staff require appropriate training to use PAVA and only prisons that have implemented the key work scheme – which is vital in building relationships between offenders and staff – will receive it.
The figures for delivery of key work quoted in the joint inspection report are the latest currently available.
Key work remains a priority for HMPPS, however, and has an important role in supporting improvements to prisons safety, reducing the risk of harm and re-offending and promoting community reintegration.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people received an Extended Determinate Sentence with a custodial period of 10 years or more in each year since 2012, by ethnicity.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The data requested is provided in the attached tables.
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on Extended Determinate Sentences and custodial sentence length, by ethnicity, in England and Wales, for the years 2017 to 2021 available in the Outcomes by Offence data tool (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 21 MB).
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence with a tariff of 10 years or more in each year, by ethnicity.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
By law, prisoners serving life and other indeterminate sentences must complete their tariff in custody and thereafter be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for them to remain confined to custody. The Government is committed to supporting prisoners to reduce their risk and so progress towards safe release, but the priority is always to protect the public.
HL1672
The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of tariff lengths in years for prisoners who received a life sentence in each year since 2002.
Year of Sentence | Lower Quartile | Median | Upper Quartile | Interquartile Range |
2002 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 9 |
2003 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 9 |
2004 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 9 |
2005 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 10 |
2006 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 11 |
2007 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 7 |
2008 | 11 | 14 | 20 | 9 |
2009 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 7 |
2010 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 9 |
2011 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 7 |
2012 | 14 | 18 | 24 | 10 |
2013 | 13 | 17 | 23 | 10 |
2014 | 11 | 17 | 23 | 12 |
2015 | 11 | 17 | 23 | 12 |
2016 | 12 | 17 | 22 | 10 |
2017 | 10 | 17 | 22 | 12 |
2018 | 13 | 18 | 23 | 10 |
2019 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 9 |
2020 | 14 | 19 | 24 | 10 |
2021 | 15 | 19 | 24 | 9 |
HL1673
The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the number of months spent in custody by life sentence prisoners who were released in each year since 2002.
Year of Sentence | Lower Quartile | Median | Upper Quartile | Interquartile Range |
2010 | 133 | 170 | 240 | 107 |
2011 | 119 | 157 | 213 | 94 |
2012 | 129 | 166 | 240 | 111 |
2013 | 136 | 174 | 243 | 107 |
2014 | 135 | 171 | 236 | 101 |
2015 | 144 | 176 | 224 | 81 |
2016 | 149 | 177 | 229 | 80 |
2017 | 151 | 180 | 247 | 96 |
2018 | 158 | 191 | 235 | 77 |
2019 | 172 | 200 | 268 | 96 |
2020 | 164 | 191 | 240 | 76 |
2021 | 165 | 205 | 263 | 98 |
Notes for above figures: Months spent in custody is calculated from date of sentence to release date. It does not take into consideration time spent in custody before sentence.
HL1674
The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the age of prisoners serving a life sentence at the point of release in each year since 2002.
Year of Sentence | Lower Quartile | Median | Upper Quartile | Interquartile Range |
2010 | 37 | 45 | 53 | 16 |
2011 | 34 | 42 | 50 | 16 |
2012 | 38 | 45 | 53 | 15 |
2013 | 38 | 46 | 55 | 17 |
2014 | 39 | 47 | 54 | 15 |
2015 | 38 | 46 | 54 | 16 |
2016 | 40 | 47 | 54 | 14 |
2017 | 39 | 47 | 56 | 17 |
2018 | 40 | 49 | 57 | 17 |
2019 | 42 | 51 | 58 | 16 |
2020 | 39 | 48 | 57 | 18 |
2021 | 39 | 49 | 57 | 18 |
Notes for above figures: Age at time of release does not reflect how long the offender had been in custody.
HL1675
The following table shows the (1) mean, and (2) median, number of months spent in custody beyond tariff for life sentence prisoners at the point of release in each year since 2002.
Year of Sentence | Average | Median |
2010 | 67 | 47 |
2011 | 69 | 51 |
2012 | 81 | 60 |
2013 | 80 | 66 |
2014 | 83 | 65 |
2015 | 76 | 64 |
2016 | 79 | 63 |
2017 | 81 | 55 |
2018 | 90 | 69 |
2019 | 96 | 83 |
2020 | 79 | 44 |
2021 | 83 | 46 |
HL1676
The following table shows the proportion of prisoners serving a life sentence who were released at their first Parole Board hearing in each year since 2002.
| Knockback | Open | Release |
Hearing Start Year | % | % | % |
2010 | 28 | 44 | 28 |
2011 | 31 | 37 | 32 |
2012 | 18 | 39 | 43 |
2013 | 17 | 38 | 45 |
2014 | 26 | 28 | 47 |
2015 | 35 | 20 | 44 |
2016 | 36 | 20 | 44 |
2017 | 25 | 27 | 47 |
2018 | 32 | 22 | 46 |
2019 | 37 | 18 | 45 |
2020 | 28 | 19 | 52 |
2021 | 38 | 19 | 43 |
HL1677
The following table shows the number of 'unreleased IPP prisoners with a tariff length of 10 years or more, by ethnicity group, as at 30 June 2015 to 30 June 2021.
| 30/06/15 | 30/06/16 | 30/06/17 | 30/06/18 | 30/06/19 | 30/06/20 | 30/06/21 |
Total | 94 | 92 | 90 | 87 | 89 | 84 | 76 |
Asian/ Asian British | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 22 |
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
White | 57 | 55 | 55 | 52 | 53 | 48 | 45 |
Notes for above figures: Figures exclude prisoners recalled from an IPP sentence
Notes for all figures in the above tables:
Due to rounding, the interquartile range may not equal the difference between the third and first quartiles.
Tariff length is the time between date of sentence and tariff expiry date.
Figures do not include whole-life orders.
Numbers are subject to revision as more data become 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. Data has been supplied for as many of the requested years as it is possible to provide within cost limits; earlier years may not be available due to changes in recording over time.