Criminal Justice: Imprisonment for Public Protection

Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede Excerpts

Wednesday 9th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

As I have previously answered, the Government are carefully considering the recommendations in the report—it came out only on 3 December—and we will look at those recommendations for the future.

[Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, the Minister seems to be defending the recall of prisoners when they breach their licensing conditions. As the report has shown, this is a source of an increasing number of prisoners on IPP sentences being recalled for breaching their licence conditions. Is the Minister satisfied that there needs to be a positive review of this way back into the prison sentence, given that the offenders who are recalled are very often mentally unstable and need protection as much as they are offending criminals?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, public protection has to be the Government’s priority. We recall only those IPP offenders who are assessed by those managing them to present an unacceptably high risk of harm to the general public. However, of course, we need to look after them, support them, and try to help them to stay out in our communities safely.