Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of offenders temporarily released from each open prison in England and Wales by offender type in each of the last five years.

The attached table gives the number of releases on ROTL from each prison with a predominant “open” function, by offender type. One prisoner may be released on several occasions throughout a year and this table shows the total number of releases, not the number of prisoners released.

By providing opportunities to work, learn and build family ties, temporary release from prison helps prevent offenders from returning to crime when they leave prison. The evidence shows that increased access to ROTL by suitable offenders helps to reduce re-offending, and the ROTL compliance rate is well over 99%.

Prisoners can apply for release on temporary licence, but it does not mean it will be granted. The safety of the public is the overriding concern and anyone who is released on temporary licence is carefully risk-assessed, liable to monitoring, and can be immediately returned to a closed prison if they fail to obey strict conditions.