§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans his Department has to tighten security measures when prisoners are allowed out on parole;
(2) how many (a) life and (b) other prisoners have escaped while out of prison on parole for the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. RumboldI assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the temporary release of prisoners under rule 6 of the prison rules. In the period 1 October 1989 to 30 September 1990 there were 1,381 recorded instances in which an inmate failed to return on time from a period of temporary release. Separate figures are not available for those prisoners serving sentences of life imprisonment and those serving determinate sentences. The arrangements governing temporary release are under review.
§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the grounds on which life prisoners can obtain parole.
§ Mrs. RumboldLife sentence prisoners are not eligible for parole, but may be granted temporary release and escorted absences to test them under conditions of trust and responsibility and facilitate their eventual resettlement and reintegration into society. Those with provisional release dates and those in open prisons are generally eligible, as, on a highly selective basis, are some life sentence prisoners in category C prisons who have made good progress during their sentence and where the risks are judged to be acceptably low.