Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people serving sentences in closed prisons will become eligible for transfer to open prisons under the early transfer rules that came into force on 9 June 2025; and how many prisoners are eligible by (a) primary offence type and (b) sentence length.

The Temporary Presumptive Recategorisation Scheme (TPRS) is not a new scheme; it was first introduced in March 2023 under the previous Government. On 9 June 2025, the scheme was extended to allow eligible prisoners to transfer to the open estate 36 months prior to release. Due to being in the early stages of operationalising this change, our staff are still in the process of conducting risk assessments to determine eligibility.

There is limited eligibility for the scheme; all sexual, terrorist and violent offenders serving a sentence of at least four years are barred. Furthermore, prisoners are assessed against clear criteria to ensure that their move will not pose a serious risk to the public. We can immediately return any offender in the Category D estate back to closed conditions at any point if there is any evidence of an increased risk, and Governors retain the discretion to rule prisoners out of moves if there are serious concerns.