Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are being taken to ensure that the probation reports required for the parole hearing of Liam Vare A9035AH scheduled for 10 May 2019 are available in time for that hearing.

The independent Parole Board had listed an oral hearing for the purposes of Mr Vare’s case on 10 May. However, on learning that a new offender manager had been appointed for Mr Vare, the Parole Board decided on 27 April to defer the oral hearing to allow the offender manager time to meet Mr Vare and to produce a report on him. The hearing has now been listed for the first available date after 24 June. The Board has directed that all outstanding reports be provided by 3 June. The Public Protection Casework Section, which oversees the delivery of the Secretary of State’s obligations in relation to the parole process, is liaising with the offender manager and others to ensure that the reports are indeed provided by 3 June.