Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people given a life sentence for a sexual offence involving a child who were released in the last 10 years have subsequently committed a further such offence.

Public protection is our priority, and any offender serving a life sentence will, pursuant a release decision by the independent Parole Board, be subject to strict controls and conditions and managed by the Police and Probation Services, working with other agencies, as necessary. An offender subject to a life licence may be recalled to custody if he breaches the conditions of the life licence in such a way that the protection of the public would be put at risk by allowing him to remain in the community.

From 1 July 2005 – 30 June 2015 there are no recorded cases of offenders released on life licence, having been sentenced to life imprisonment for an offence of rape who were convicted of a further offence of rape.

From 1 July 2005 – 30 June 2015 there are no recorded cases of offenders released on life licence, having been sentenced to life imprisonment for a sexual offence involving a child, who were convicted of a further sexual offence involving a child.

Also from 1 July 2005 – 30 June 2015 there were 8 offenders released on life licence, having been sentenced to life imprisonment for a homicide offence, who were convicted of a further offence of homicide.

These offences fall in scope of the Probation Serious Further Offence (SFO) Review Procedures, and relate to those offences contained in Schedule 15a of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which attract a sentence of 14 years or more.

Other offences of violence against the person and burglary do not fall in scope of the Probation SFO Review Procedures. Data on offenders released on a life licence who have committed offences other than those in scope of the SFO Review Procedures are not held centrally in a readily accessible format for the last ten years. To obtain these data would exceed cost limits.