Parole Board For England And Wales
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Parole Board publishes business plan for 2008/09
The Parole Board today published its Business Plan for 2008/09, setting out its aims, objectives and targets for the coming 12 months. The Plan details how the Board will manage the changing nature of its work and workload as it moves towards becoming a fully judicially autonomous court/tribunal and joins the Access to Justice Group of the Ministry of Justice.
Changes brought in by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 have led to a significant fall in the number of determinate sentence cases (DCR and EPP) considered by the Board and a further reduction is expected following the implementation of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. The new Act is also likely to mean a projected drop in the number of determinate sentence recalls that will be referred to the Board.
However, all other areas of work are likely to increase with legislative changes and judicial review decisions leading to an ever increasing number of indeterminate sentence cases and those that have to be dealt with by oral hearings. The number of indeterminate IPP sentences dealt with by paper review is projected to increase from 125 in 2007/08 to 350 in 2008/09 and those dealt with by oral hearing from 500 to 1,075. The number of lifer oral hearing reviews is also projected to increase from 1,600 to 1,700.
Christine Glenn, Chief Executive of the Parole Board said: "Last year was another record one for the Board in terms of workload, with significant increases in oral hearings and recall cases in particular. We might well have seen the high water mark in terms of the numbers of cases we handle, with DCR cases now starting to drop and legislative changes likely to reduce the number of recalls.
"What we are seeing, and will continue to see, is an ever increasing number of resource intensive oral hearings. Case law and legislative changes are turning the Board into a court-like body with primary responsibility for dealing with the most serious and dangerous offenders. This makes it vital that we employ systems that can support our members in maintaining their high standard of decision making."
Sir Duncan Nichol, Chairman of the Parole Board, said: "We have set out a tough agenda for 2008/09 to meet our overarching aim of working with others to protect the public and to contribute to the rehabilitation of offenders. Our aim is that this year will mark a turnaround in the timeliness and completeness of dossiers made available to us and consequently on the timely holding of oral hearings.
"At the heart of the future for us, I hope that we can look forward to a successful outcome of our efforts to secure an appropriate, final landing place for the Board. It may be that this is a court or tribunal which will reinforce its independence and its place at the centre of public protection. In the meantime we look forward to new sponsorship arrangements through the Access to Justice Group of the Ministry of Justice."
The Corporate Plan for 2007 to 2010 identifies three strategic aims for the Parole Board:
* Aim 1 - To make risk assessments which are rigorous, fair and timely with the primary aim of protecting the public and which contribute to the rehabilitation of prisoners where appropriate.
* Aim 2 - To demonstrate effective and accountable corporate governance by maintaining strong internal control, setting clear objectives and managing corporate risk, and to deliver best value by optimum use of resources.
* Aim 3 - To promote the independence of and public confidence in the work of the Board whilst effectively managing change.
Caseload projections
Type of case 2007/08
2008/09
DCR/EPP 7,300
4,734
Lifer first reviews on papers only 260
300
IPP first reviews on papers only 125
350
Lifer/IPP advice cases on papers only 300
375
Lifer oral hearing reviews* 1,600
1,700
IPP oral hearing reviews* 500
1,075
Lifer/IPP recall oral hearings 200
250
Determinate recalls (paper) 16,400
13,400
Determinate recalls (oral) # 1,200
* includes oral hearings in first review cases where a recommendation for transfer to open conditions is likely
# projections not provided by MoJ
Notes to Editors
A full copy of the Parole Board for England and Wales Business Plan 2008/09 is available on the Parole Board website at http://www.paroleboard.gov.uk/about/business_plans/
The Parole Board is an independent body that works with its criminal justice partners to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can safely be released into the community.
For further information please look on the Parole Board website
at http://www.paroleboard.gov.uk
ENDS PR/05/2008
