Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the contribution by the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims of 9 September 2014, Official Report, column 748, on victims of crime, if he will publish the notes of his meeting with the Parole Board Group.

On 4 September 2014, the Secretary of State for Justice met the Chairman of the Parole Board, Sir David Calvert-Smith, and Claire Bassett, Chief Executive of the Parole Board.

One of the issues that the meeting discussed was victim personal statements. It was agreed that victim personal statements play an important role in the parole process and can be used, by the panel, to assess whether the offender understands the full impact of their crimes on the victim.

The meeting also noted that the independent Parole Board will prepare guidance to victims about the role of victim personal statements in the parole process.

Victims of crime need and deserve the best possible support. It is right that victims of such horrific crimes are able to submit a Victim Personal Statement to the Parole Board considering the offender’s case, setting out how the offence has affected them and the impact that the offender’s release would have.