§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
In how many cases of mandatory life sentences the present Home Secretary has set tariffs for the first time since he came into office in May 1993; how many of these were outside the judicial recommendations; how many of these have been challenged by way of judicial review, and with what results; how many other cases there are where tariffs set before May 1993 were disclosed following the Doody judgment and were set afresh in the light of the representations made; in how many of these cases the tariff remained above either judicial recommendation; and how many of these cases have been challenged by way of judicial review, and with what results.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch)The present Home Secretary has personally set tariffs for three people who were convicted of murder after he took office. Two of these tariffs were above the judicial recommendations and have been challenged by way of judicial review. Those proceedings have not yet been finally completed.
Tariffs have been set afresh for 170 prisoners who made representations about their original tariffs which were retrospectively disclosed to them following the Doody judgment. The new tariffs remain above either judicial recommendation in 85 of these cases. Four of these have been judicially reviewed. In three cases the tariffs were quashed on procedural grounds and required to be considered afresh; the fourth is still before the courts.