Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the paper entitled Root and Branch Review of the Parole System: The Future of the Parole System in England and Wales, CP654, published on 30 March 2022, whether he has had recent discussions with trade unions representing probation staff on the rights of those staff to make recommendations to the Parole Board.

Officials continue to have discussions with trade unions representing probation staff about the changes made to the Parole Board Rules with effect from 21 July, and in particular the one which prohibits report writers from making a recommendation as to whether the statutory release test is met in the case of the prisoner whose detention is being reviewed by the Parole Board.

Probation officers continue to have a vital role in informing the decision which falls in law exclusively to the Parole Board, by providing comprehensive and fully reasoned assessments of the prisoner’s risk.

Our priority continues to be the protection of the public; the reforms to the parole system help us to do that.