Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people aged (1) 50–59, and (2) 60 and over, were granted release on temporary licence in each month since January 2013.

The Ministry of Justice collates data on incidences of release on temporary licence (ROTL) rather than on decisions to grant ROTL. A decision to grant ROTL can relate to a single incidence of release, or to more than one incidence of release where, for example, an offender is regularly working in the community on day release. Annual statistics on the numbers of individuals granted ROTL is published on the gov.uk website.

The attached tables provide the following information:

Table 1: The number of individuals released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison;

Table 2: Incidences of release on temporary licence per month between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison and by type of licence;

Table 3: The number of individuals aged 50 to 59, and 60 and over released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015.

The Ministry of Justice collates data relating to the number of individuals released on temporary licence on a quarterly basis: it would only be possible to provide monthly data at disproportionate cost.

Following changes to ROTL in 2013, there has been a 39% reduction in recorded instances of ROTL failure. This is the lowest failure rate since 2002.

ROTL can be an important tool to help rehabilitate prisoners. ROTL is not automatic, but is only granted following rigorous assessment and with public protection as a primary consideration. The Government supports prisoners using temporary release to take work, training and educational opportunities that cannot be provided in prison, as well as for maintaining ties with their families.