Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, of what offences had prisoners released on temporary licence in each of the last four years been convicted.

We commissioned a fundamental review of release on temporary licence (ROTL) policy and practice last year and, in March, announced a package of measures to ensure that the public was properly protected. We have brought forward some of those measures so that they begin to take effect immediately; particularly with more serious offenders, where the review concluded that an enhanced risk assessment approach should be taken. These offenders must have their release agreed by the governor or deputy and the board considering release must have sight of a psychologist's case review report. Temporary licence is an important tool in preparing prisoners for release from prison but we must make sure it is done safely and that the public can feel confident in the risk assessment and monitoring arrangements.

Data in relation to the main offence types for offenders released on temporary licence is recorded in the following categories:

It is therefore not possible to determine the number of offenders serving custodial sentences for serious violent and sexual assaults, who were released on temporary licence, without incurring disproportionate cost.

Offenders convicted of offences within each of these categories, with the exception of motor offences, were released on temporary licence in each year between 2011 and 2013. Data for 2010 cannot be provided due to a database migration.