Section 61 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 inserted sections 32ZAA to 32ZAC to the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (the ‘1997 Act’). Section 32ZAA provides that the Secretary of State can direct the Parole Board to refer eligible life prisoners’ cases to the High Court if the release of the prisoner would be likely to undermine public confidence in the parole system and if the case were referred, the High Court might not be satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined. A life prisoner must be serving a sentence in respect of an offence specified or described in section 32ZAB (murder, rape, terrorism and terrorism-connected offences and causing/allowing the death of a child). Section 32ZAC sets out the powers of the High Court when dealing with a referral of a life prisoner’s case. The High Court must either order the Secretary of State to give effect to the Parole Board’s release direction if the Court is satisfied that the statutory release test is met, or must make an order quashing the Parole Board’s direction to release the prisoner on licence.
	The statutory provisions setting out the release and recall arrangements of all life sentence prisoners, are set out in Part 2 of the 1997 Act.
	Section 31A deals with termination of IPP licences. Section 31A(5) defines the qualifying period in relation to a prisoner who has been released on licence as three years for IPP offenders and two years for those convicted when under the age of 18. Section 31A(3)(b) provides that the Secretary of State must refer the prisoner’s case to the Parole Board if the qualifying period has expired. Where a reference is made, the Parole Board can either make an order that the licence will cease to have effect where it is satisfied it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for the licence to remain in force, or dismiss the reference (section 31A(4)). The licence will automatically terminate after a further two years from the qualifying period as long as the prisoner has remained in the community without recall.
	Pursuant to section 32 of the 1997 Act, the Secretary of State can revoke a life prisoner’s licence and recall them to prison. The Secretary of State will refer the case of a life prisoner recalled under this section to the Parole Board (section 32(4)). The Parole Board must not give a direction for release for the Secretary of State to give effect to unless satisfied that it is no longer for the protection of the public that the life prisoner should remain in prison (section 32(5A)). If the Parole Board is considering the release after recall of an IPP offender who has already met the requisite qualifying period defined in section 31A(5), the Parole Board can direct that their release be unconditional, i.e. without a licence, which means that on release, their sentence ends (section 31A(4F)(a)).
Legal background Part 2: Management of offenders after sentencing Sentences of imprisonment or detention for public protection