§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners are currently beyond parole eligibility date awaiting a decision; and what has been the number in each of the last 12 months;
(2) what has been the average delay beyond parole eligibility date for each of the four prison department regions in each of the last six months.
180W
§ Mr. MellorInformation is not available in the form requested. About three quarters of cases are decided on the basis of local review committee recommendations alone. There are now no general delays in these cases, compared with the position in the summer of this year when one quarter of them were delayed by an average of about one month beyond PED. The delay in parole board cases, which exceeded three months in the summer, has now been reduced to about two-and-a-half months beyond PED. There is no evidence of any significant regional variation in the delays.
Further and more rapid improvements should follow the administrative changes my right hon. and learned Friend announced in reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Mr. Lawrence) on 30 November at column 396. The aim is to eliminate completely the present delays by March next year.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the longest period beyond parole eligibility date that a prisoner is currently waiting.
§ Mr. MellorInformation in this form is not readily available from central records.