Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average minimum terms were for (a) men and (b) women completing a life sentence for murder in the last year for which figures are available.

We have taken the reference in the question to ‘average minimum terms’ to be a reference to the average tariff period that must be served by those serving a life sentence for murder before they can be considered for release by the Parole Board.

The average tariff periods for individuals serving mandatory life-sentences for murder who were released in 2017 were:

(a) Men = 12 years.

(b) Women = 13 years.

It should be noted that many of these individuals would have been sentenced prior to the implementation of relevant provisions in Schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 which introduced a robust framework for the determination of minimum terms by courts for mandatory life sentences. The figures above should therefore be contrasted with the average tariff periods for individuals serving mandatory life sentences for murder who were sentenced in 2017 (whole-life sentences not included) which were:

(a) Men = 21 years.

Women = 18 years.