Recommendation 19

HM Government Accepted in Part

Partially accept Reasoning: We do not accept that offenders serving the IPP sentence on licence are being recalled to prison unnecessarily. The current process for recall is robust and has been subject to extensive scrutiny, including by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, which concluded in its thematic inspection of recall culture and practice, published on 10 November 2020, that recall was being used appropriately and in order to protect the public. The Probation Service is already required to consider alternatives to recall before asking the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) formally to revoke an offender’s licence, including more frequent reporting and curfews supported by electronic monitoring. Further, for those subject to indeterminate sentences, the Probation Service must demonstrate a “causal link” in the current behaviour that was exhibited at the time of the index offence. We have asked the Chief Inspector of Probation to conduct an independent thematic inspection in 2023/24 on whether IPP recalls are necessary and proportionate to the offender’s increased risk in connection with his breaching of licence conditions. Once confirmed and agreed, we will share with the Committee the Chief Inspector’s Terms of Reference for the thematic inspection. Additionally, we will reinforce to all staff the recall policy, process and threshold for Indeterminate Sentenced Prisoners (ISP) including IPP cases. We will not introduce primary legislation to enable recalled IPP prisoners to be re-released executively. Since by law it falls to the Parole Board to determine whether the statutory release test is met in the case of every offender serving the IPP sentence, it is right that the Parole Board should apply that test as much as in the case of a recalled IPP prisoner as in the case of an IPP prisoner who has never been released. We recognise, however, that the safe management of risk in the community is, for many cases, dependent on a number of factors relating to the ongoing provision of certain community resources, such as accommodation (COM might seek a recall if they cannot find a quick alternative and, without it, the risk is deemed unmanageable in the community. We will also review this challenge in the context of our wider review of the IPP Action Plan and report back to the committee at the end of Q1 2023. Approved Premises and other accommodation Approved Premises are operated by HM Prison and Probation Service across England and Wales. In response to demand pressures, we are on course to deliver 169 additional bed spaces by 31 March 2023 to ensure an adequate supply of places across the country. Each additional site or expansion at an existing site is subject to discussion with the relevant local authority to obtain planning permission. We work with our criminal justice partners including the Parole Board, Police and Crime Commissioners and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) to identify areas of highest demand in order to resettle offenders back into their local community. Electronic Monitoring The use of Electronic Monitoring (EM) as a licence variation would not be proposed as a direct alternative to recall when risk escalates significantly because there is no immediate response to a breach of an EM requirement, i.e. monitoring does not take place by Probation Practitioners in ‘real time’. Instead, using EM for licence variation is a proactive early step that can be considered to manage risk prior to recall. In relation to IPP offenders on licence, the EM team have engaged with the Probation Service and the Parole Board on the benefits of using EM with this cohort at the point of release to support with overall risk and sentence management in the community. Currently, the HMPPS policy states that an electronically monitored curfew can only be considered where it is imposed alongside a location monitoring condition. This policy will change imminently, which will provide more flexible options when considering EM curfews to support the release of indeterminate prisoners, or a request for a licence variation where appropriate. Separately, alcohol monitoring on EM is already available to Probation Practitioners for licence variation on all cases following the national roll out in June 2022 which will provide further opportunities to aid the effective management of offenders on licence.