§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he established a working group on the aftercare of wrongly convicted prisoners; what its terms of reference are; what appointments have been made to the working group; what its target date is to report; and by what means interested parties may make submissions. [48627]
§ Beverley HughesThe working group was established and first met in July 2000. The group is made up of Home Office officials and representatives of the National Association for the Care and Re-settlement of Offenders (NACRO) and the Society of Voluntary Associates (SOVA), two national voluntary sector organisations with considerable interest and experience in criminal justice and resettlement issues. The group's terms of reference are to consider and report to Ministers on what assistance might be given on release to ex-prisoners who successfully appeal against conviction and how that assistance might best be delivered within the available budget. No target date was set for the report but the working group is due to report to Ministers shortly. The group commissioned an independent scoping study to inform its work, which identified and canvassed views from a number of interested parties. After consideration of the scoping study the working group decided that a pilot project was appropriate. As there is no procurement exercise or competition for service delivery during the pilot phase, expressions of interest have not been invited. However, it has always been open to those who wish to contribute views to send them direct to the Home Office.