Part 7: Sentencing and release Chapter 1: Custodial sentences Section 138: Imprisonment for public protection etc: duty to refer person released on licence to Parole Board
Section 138 amends section 31A of the 1997 Act. That section relates to licence termination for offenders serving ‘preventative sentences’, namely sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection ("IPP"); the youth equivalent - Detention for Public Protection ("DPP"), and the armed forces equivalents.
	A person serving a preventative sentence who has been released on licence after having served the custodial part of that sentence is entitled to make an application to the Parole Board to have their licence terminated once the ‘qualifying period’ has expired. The qualifying period is 10 years from the offender’s first release from prison. If the Parole Board is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the licence should remain in force, it will direct the Secretary of State to make an order that the licence is to cease to have effect and is therefore terminated.
	Subsections (2) and (6) clarifies that time spent in prison following recall under section 32 does not affect the calculation of the 10-year qualifying period for licence termination.
	Subsection (3) substitutes section 31A(3) of the 1997 Act. In place of the existing application by the prisoner to the Parole Board for consideration of termination of the licence, the Secretary of State must refer the prisoner’s case to the Parole Board for such consideration. That reference must be made where the prisoner has been released on licence in respect of the preventative sentence and the qualifying period has expired and, if a previous reference has been made, 12 months have expired since the Parole Board disposed of the reference.
	Subsection (4) makes consequential amendments to section 31A(4) of the 1997 Act changing an application by a prisoner to a reference by the Secretary of State.
	Subsections (5) provides for the position where the automatic referral falls when an offender is recalled under section 32 of the 1997 Act. In such a case the offender will not be on licence so the licence cannot be revoked by the Parole Board, so instead provision is made for the Parole Board to instead determine whether it is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that, when released, the offender remains under the IPP licence. If the Parole Board is satisfied to that effect, it will direct the Secretary of State to release the offender unconditionally.
	Subsections (7) to (8) make transitional provision for applications made but not determined by the Parole Board before commencement, providing the application is to be dealt with as if had been a reference by the Secretary of State instead of an application by the offender. Subsections (9) and (10) make transitional provision for applications dismissed by the Parole Board before commencement to allow for the trigger for the next referral to count from the date of the last disposal.