§ Mr. Wheelerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the effect of his new policy for restricting parole in the first six months of its operation.
§ Mr. BrittanMy announcement of 30 November 1983 made it clear that from that date I intended that prisoners sentenced to more than five years for offences of violence or drug trafficking would not be released on parole licence before the last few months of their sentence unless there were exceptional circumstances.
Comparative figures have been specially obtained for the outcome of parole reviews of cases within the scope of the new policy considered in the periods January to June 1983 and 1984. These show that, in the first six months of 1984, only 13 prisoners within the scope of the new policy were granted release eight months or more before the end of their sentence. This compares with 113 of corresponding cases considered in the first six months of 1983.