Select committee: Justice Committee
Recommendation 12
Third Report - IPP sentences
Published 28 Sep 2022
Paragraph 120
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The recalled population of IPP offenders is a growing concern and will soon be larger than the population of IPP prisoners who have never been released from custody. The Government needs to devote far greater energy and resource to tackling the “recall merry-go-round”, ensuring that IPP prisoners who do secure their release are able to live a successful life thereafter, avoiding unnecessary recall to prison. We agree with the Chair of the Parole Board that the Government should examine this issue in depth, covering, for example, the threshold for recalls, the use of Executive release, and the role of the Parole Board. The Government should discuss with local government how to ensure an adequate supply of approved premises that does not over burden specific local authorities. Emergency recalls should only be used as a last resort. Probation staff should be encouraged and supported to use alternative measures to emergency recall, such as adjusted reporting requirements, curfews and use of electronic tags.
From: Justice Committee, Third Report - IPP sentences (HC 266), paragraph 120, 28 September 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 9 February 2023 (deadline 28 November 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government accepts or partially accepts several recommendations, including a refreshed IPP Action Plan, but rejects resentencing and a shorter licence period, stating that resentencing would give rise to "an unacceptable risk to public protection".
- On the primary recommendation, the Government "has no plans to conduct a resentencing exercise", and states that the updated IPP Action Plan "remains the best option" for progression towards safe release.
- It accepts the recommendation for a new IPP Action Plan with clear performance measures, and says MoJ and HMPPS "will provide full details of the refreshed action plan and associated governance within the timeframe set out by the Committee" (by the end of Q1 2023).
- It rejects reducing the licence termination eligibility period from 10 to five years, but says it "will review the policy and practice for suspending supervision in appropriate cases".
- On recall, it partially accepts and does not accept that IPP offenders are recalled unnecessarily. It has asked the Chief Inspector of Probation to conduct a thematic inspection in 2023/24, and will share the Terms of Reference with the Committee once confirmed and agreed.