§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the purpose of the long home leave granted to prisoners serving long-term prison sentences; and what are the conditions for granting or refusing the same.
§ Dr. SummerskillTerminal home leave is intended to help the prisoner resume his family life and readjust to conditions outside prison, and to give him the opportunity to approach prospective employers.
Prisoners in security Category A and those due to be deported are ineligible; other arrangements for leave apply to those selected for parole—apart from some life prisoners—or for the pre-release employment scheme. Applications from those eligible are considered by a home leave board, which takes into account such factors as accommodation and home circumstances, stability of behaviour, medical advice, the nature of the prisoner's offence, and the possible risk involved in his temporary release.