Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners were refused (1) release, and (2) transfer to open conditions, due to being unable to complete programmes or other work identified by (a) Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, or (b) the Parole Board, as necessary to assess or reduce risk, in each of the past five years.

The independent Parole Board take a holistic approach when assessing a prisoner’s risk for the purposes of considering whether to direct the prisoner’s release or recommend the prisoner’s transfer to open conditions. Where a prisoner has not completed a programme or other work specified in their sentence plan by the time of their next parole review, that does not constitute an insurmountable barrier to release or progression.