Section 61 amends the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 to create a ‘top-tier’ cohort of life-sentenced offenders. The Secretary of State can direct the Parole Board to refer a case concerning top-tier offenders to the High Court to determine release, following a release decision from the Board.
	Section 61 inserts new sections 32ZAA, 32ZAB and 32ZAC into Part 2 of the 1997 Act.
	New section 32ZAA applies where a life sentenced prisoner is having a parole review under section 28 or 32 of the 1997 Act, relating to the sentence imposed for a ‘top tier’ offence defined in new section 32ZAB. These offences are murder, rape, serious terrorism or terrorism connected offences, and causing or allowing the death of a child. They include the Northern Irish and Scottish equivalents of the offences, to capture offenders who are convicted in the devolved administrations but transferred to England and Wales to serve their sentence. Equivalent service offences are also included. Some of the ‘top-tier’ offences do not carry a maximum penalty of life; however, owing to the historic availability of the IPP sentence for all these offences, they are included in this addition to the 1997 Act so as to ensure IPPs who have committed these offences who are being considered for release are treated consistently with those serving life sentences.
	Subsections (1) and (2) provide that where the Parole Board directs the release of a prisoner in the top-tier cohort, the Secretary of State may then direct the Parole Board to refer the prisoner’s case to the High Court for review where the release of the prisoner would be likely to undermine public confidence in the parole system and where the Secretary of State considers that, if the case were referred, the High Court may not conclude that the release test has been met.
	Subsection (3) provides that the Secretary of State’s duty to release the prisoner is suspended for the time reasonably required to decide whether to refer the case to the High Court, and while the High Court make a decision.
	Subsection (4) provides that the Secretary of State must notify the prisoner of the direction and the reasons for giving it.
	Subsections (5) and (6) clarify that this section applies to all relevant prisoners, including those currently serving sentences, but not including those who have already had a release decision from the Board before this section comes into force.
	New section 32ZAC provides for release decisions to be made by the High Court after referral. If the High Court is satisfied that the public protection test is met (using the same criteria as the Parole Board has used under new section 28ZA), they must order the Secretary of State to release the prisoner on licence pursuant to the Board’s release direction, either subject to the same or different conditions as those imposed by the Board. If they are not so satisfied, they must quash the Parole Board’s direction under 32ZAC(1)(b) and the prisoner will remain confined.
	New section 32ZAC(3) means that the date of an order quashing the Board’s direction is to be treated as the date on which the Board disposed of the case, for the purposes of calculating the prisoner’s next parole referral. This provides that, following an order for release by the High Court, the Secretary of State need only give effect to that order as soon as reasonably practicable in all the circumstances, in line with the same practicability requirement applied to Parole Board release decisions, to ensure provision such as accommodation is in place, so as to safely release offenders.
Part 4: Prisoners Referral of release decisions Section 61: Referral of release decisions: life prisoners