§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will authorise the disclosure to prisoners in certain cases of the criteria on which their parole applications have been rejected.
§ Mr. Rifkind[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1986, c.410]: The practice of not giving reasons for refusal to grant early release on parole licence is long-standing. As the Parole Board for Scotland indicated in its annual report for 1983, this policy has operated since the parole scheme was introduced and the alternative of operating parole as a right to be claimed with refusal subject to legal challenge. Parole is a privilege, not an entitlement, and I do not propose to change the current practice.