Mr. Ron Brownasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the average period of time taken to make review board decisions in the case of prisoners serving life sentences in Scotland (a) from 1979 until 1984 and (b) from 1984 onwards; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John MacKayInformation is not available in the form requested. The initial review of the suitability or otherwise of an indeterminate sentence prisoner for release on life licence is carried out by a local review committee at the penal establishment concerned. Detailed reports and consideration by the local review committee normally take about 3 to 4 months to complete. The time taken to complete other stages of the review process, which under statute has to include consultation with the judiciary and a favourable recommendation from the Parole Board for Scotland before a provisional release date is granted by my right hon. and learned Friend, varies according to the circumstances of the individual case and the number and complexity of cases currently under consideration.
A new form of record keeping introduced last year has shown that in recent months the time taken to complete reviews has increased, but steps are being taken to improve the turnover as quickly as possible.
Mr. Ron Brownasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the average period of time taken to make review board decisions in the case of those categories of prisoners serving a minimum life sentence of 20 years following legislation introduced in 1984 (a) in Scottish prisons and (b) in Saughton prison, Edinburgh; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John MacKayInformation is not available in the form requested.
On 18 December 1984, at columns 90–91, my right hon. and learned Friend announced that he had made clear to the Parole Board for Scotland that only in exceptional circumstances would he feel that release earlier than 20 years would be appropriate for a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment for certain categories of murder (in particular, murders of police officers or prison officers, murder by terrorists, sexual or sadistic murders of children or murders committed by firearm in the commission of crime). These cases are subject to the same procedures of review as those of other indeterminate sentence prisoners although the timing of reviews may reflect the longer period in custody which the individual may be expected to serve.
Reviews of cases for especially grave offences may take longer to complete because of their serious nature or the potential risk to public safety on release.