Infected Blood Compensation Body The Parole Board and prisoner release
The Parole Board was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act 1967. It became an independent executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. It works to protect the public by risk assessing parole-eligible prisoners to decide whether they can be safely released on licence into the community and to confirm the continued detention of the prisoner where they cannot.
	Whilst elements such as general risk of re-offending and good behaviour in prison are taken into account by the Board, it is important to stress that the offender’s potential risk of causing serious further harm to the public is the deciding factor in parole decisions. If the Board determines that an offender’s risk cannot be safely managed in the community through licence conditions and supervision by the Probation Service, then they will not be released and will remain in prison pending a further review, which normally occurs every 12 to 24 months.
	Each year the Parole Board reviews around 26,000 cases. In 2020/21, the Parole Board conducted 23,453 paper considerations and 9,202 oral hearings. Of the total cases concluded in any given year, fewer than one in four prisoners reviewed are judged to meet the statutory test for release. Less than 0.5% of prisoners released by the Parole Board are convicted of a serious further offence within three years of the release decision having been made.
	The Parole Board’s procedures are governed by the Parole Board Rules, which are made by the Secretary of State for Justice through secondary legislation under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 ("the 2003 Act") and subject to the negative procedure.
	There are several different sentence types that may bring an offender into contact with the Parole Board, making them "parole-eligible" sentences. These sentences are Extended Determinate Sentences, Sentences for Offenders of Particular Concern, Life Sentences and Sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). Additionally, all standard determinate sentenced terrorist offenders will go before the Parole Board under section 247A of the 2003 Act, as will standard determinate sentenced offenders who are deemed to be dangerous and are referred to the Board instead of being released automatically under section 244ZB of the 2003 Act.
	Extended determinate sentences are available for offenders convicted of certain specified violent, sexual or terrorism offences whom the court determines to be "dangerous", and Sentences for Offenders of Particular Concern are available for offenders convicted of certain terrorism offences and the two most serious sexual offences against children. Under these sentences, an offender is considered for release by the Parole Board between the two-thirds and end point of the custodial term. If not released earlier, they are automatically released at the end of their custodial term and serve an extended period (Extended Determinate Sentenced prisoners) or an additional 12-month period (Sentences for Offenders of Particular Concern prisoners) on licence.
	Life sentences in almost all cases spend a minimum period in custody (a ‘tariff’, set by the court) before consideration for release by the Parole Board. Many offenders remain in prison beyond their tariff, and some may never be released. If an offender is released, they will remain on licence for the rest of their life and will be subject to recall to prison at any time. There are currently three types of life sentence available to the court: mandatory life sentences must be imposed on anyone convicted of murder; discretionary life sentences apply to a range of offences that carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment (e.g., manslaughter, rape, and robbery); life sentence for a specified second offence is available for adult offenders who have been convicted of a second specified violent, sexual or terrorism offence.
	Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences were introduced in 2005 as an indeterminate sentence targeted at serious offenders who did not merit a life sentence. Under the sentence, offenders were given a minimum term that had to be served in full in custody. At the end of the term, they can be released only if the Parole Board is satisfied that they are safe to be released on licence. IPP sentences were abolished in 2012, although not retrospectively, so there are still IPP offenders in custody who are subject to Parole Board release (including both those who are awaiting first release and those who have been recalled).
	In 2019, the Conservative Party’s Manifesto committed to conducting a Root and Branch review of the Parole system to improve accountability and public safety.
	In March 2022, the Ministry of Justice published the Root and Branch Review of the Parole System. The review set out a range of reforms to the parole system to increase transparency, improve victims’ experience and improve public safety. The review also proposed several changes that require primary legislation, including refining the statutory release test to make it more prescriptive and introducing a power for the Secretary of State to review release decisions for the most serious offenders. These changes are the subject of this section of the Act, along with changes to the appointment of Parole Board members and the role of the Chair.