§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of prisoners in England and Wales who were eligible for parole were subsequently granted parole, under section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, in 1987;
(2) how many prisoners in England and Wales were eligible for parole, under section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, in 1987.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThis information is not yet available.
§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners in England and Wales in 1987, who were eligible for parole under section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, had not been notified of their release date by the time of their parole eligibility date during 1987;
(2) how many parole applications, under section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, have passed their parole eligibility date and are currently outstanding.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe parole eligibility date is the date before which an inmate cannot be released on licence but must have his case for parole reviewed at the prison. The review arrangements a re designed to enable the inmate to be released on parole licence on the parole eligibility date if parole is granted. It is not always possible to meet that objective. Delays can occur for a number of reasons in individual cases. The increasing parole caseload has also led in recent months to a general increase in the number of cases in which prisoners are not informed of the decision in their case until after their parole eligibility date, but the cases which are most affected are those which have to be referred to the Parole Board. In the overwhelming majority of cases of prisoners' sentences of less than two years (known as section 33 cases) the prisoner is notified of the decision to grant parole sufficiently in advance of the parole eligibility date to make release on that date possible.