§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recommendations by the Parole Board for the releases on parole or licence of prisoners serving life sentences have been(a) accepted and (b) rejected by him in each year since 1981.
§ Mrs. RumboldInformation on the numbers of life sentence prisoners recommended as suitable for release by the Parole Board and the numbers of those recommendations not accepted by Home Secretaries is published in successive annual reports of the Parole Board. For convenience, the figures for 1981–90, which include re-releases following a period in prison after recall from a previous licence, are set out in the table. Parole Board 447W recommendations of "suitable for release" have been for dates ranging from the immediate future to up to two and a half years ahead.
Life sentence prisoners recommended for release by the Parole Board 1981–90 Year of recommendation Recommended Not accepted by Home Secretary 1981 147 4 1982 144 5 1983 121 16 1984 112 10 1985 94 16 1986 120 14 1987 147 23 1988 91 13 1989 119 15 1990 138 41