§ Mr. LawrenceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to eliminate parole delays; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaddingtonWe have been increasingly concerned with the administrative arrangements which have led to unacceptable parole delays. Earlier this year, action was taken on several fronts to reduce these delays. A significant increase in staffing for the parole unit was approved and regular overtime working authorised. The unit has also been completely reorganised and certain procedures streamlined to enhance productivity. Additional members394W were appointed to the Parole Board; and it has made a significant contribution to the effort by increasing its sittings and the number of cases dealt with at each one. But the need to train new staff, coupled with the advent of the summer leave season and the impact of transport difficulties, meant that the reduction in delays took some time to come through. However, a marked improvement has now been achieved. Delays are confined to those 30 per cent. of cases which must go to the Parole Board for advice. Owing to the growing number of inmates serving longer sentences whose cases must be referred to the board, our forecasts suggest that on the present basis, parole delays on these cases would continue until mid-1990. This is clearly unacceptable and further action is thus clearly necessary.
We considered assigning yet more staff to the unit, but concluded that with the inevitable training requirement, this would not lead to an early elimination of delays. I have therefore decided to change the administrative arrangements underlying the advice given to me on which I take parole decisions.
Section 35 of the Criminal Justices Act 1972 enables me, having consulted the Parole Board, to define classes of cases for which I may authorise parole on the basis of local review committee advice alone. At present, about two-thirds of all parole cases are decided on the basis of such advice. I have consulted the Parole Baord and decided with its agreement, to extend the section 35 arrangements to include all sentences under four years. Every parole case will, of course, continue to be considered very carefully on its merits in the Home Office; and where I believe that a second opinion would be helpful, I shall still ask the Parole Board to advise on the case.
This action is likely to reduce the board's caseload by about a quarter. It will reduce the workload of the parole unit, freeing staff to deal more rapidly with existing backlogs. As a result, I expect that the present parole delays should generally be eliminated within about three months.