Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress he has made on the root and branch review of the parole system.

We announced in October 2020, that the government would conduct a Root and Branch Review of the Parole System. The overriding aim of the review is to improve public protection and confidence in the system. To that end, the review is looking in particular at the criteria for release and the powers to challenge Parole Board release decisions, as we are exploring how to take an even more precautionary approach to the potential release of high risk and serious offenders. We are also looking at ways to make the system more transparent, and through the recent Victims’ Bill consultation we have sought views on how to further improve the engagement and experience of victims in the parole process. The review will report its findings this spring.