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Parole Board members always seek to act in accordance with the highest standards of personal and professional conduct. The Board takes seriously any complaint that a member has in some way fallen short of these standards.
This document explains how you can complain and how we will do all we can to ensure that your complaint is dealt with fairly and as quickly as possible.
A Parole Board panel's role is to make decisions, including on early release and recall. If you are unhappy with that decision then you are advised to seek legal advice to discuss whether you have a right to appeal, since this complaints procedure does not relate to panel decisions.
However, if your complaint is not about the actual decision but about a panel member's personal conduct, you have the right to complain. Examples of potential personal misconduct would include inappropriate remarks made during the course of a hearing or allegations of rude, offensive or racist conduct towards others.
Your complaint should be made to the Director of Performance and Development, The Parole Board, Grenadier House, 99 105 Horseferry Rd, London SW1P 2DX.
Any formal complaint must be made in writing. Your letter should state clearly:
Your complaint must be made as soon as possible and in any case no later than 3 months after the incident about which you wish to complain.
Once your complaint is received, the Board will aim to acknowledge your letter within 5 working days. If the complaint meets the criteria for investigation, an Investigating Officer will be appointed who will be free to invite further comments or hold meetings with those involved. The investigation will normally be completed within 14 days, with a further 7 days for the submission of a final report.
If the complaint does not meet the criteria for investigation, you will be notified, with the reasons, in 7 days.
If you are unhappy with the decision relating to your complaint, you have the right to appeal to the Chair of the Parole Board (address as above). A letter outlining the grounds of appeal should be sent within 14 days of the receipt of the decision letter. The Chair will make such further enquiries as seem necessary and his/her decision will be final.
The procedure outlined in this document follows the principles laid down in the Lord Chancellor's rules relating to complaints about Judges, and with the Judicial Complaints (Tribunals) Rules 2006. It also takes account of the code of Conduct for Parole Board members and the formal arrangements contained therein.
The procedure exists to address complaints that arise when Board members behave inappropriately or fail in their responsibility to avoid bias or prejudice. It will not be used for complaints relating to decisions, and the independence of Members will be respected in relation to these. It covers claims of impropriety, irregularity or misconduct -- the manner in which a decision has been made, or action taken, including undue delay or failure to act or make decisions, rather than the decision or action itself and which also give rise to concerns that the Code of Conduct may have been breached.
Many complaints can be resolved informally and, where possible, this remains the preferred option.
Use of this formal procedure means that any complaint must be made by letter and must provide as much detail as is possible about the complaint or incident to which it refers. If the complaint centres on a panel decision or procedure it must relate to the personal conduct of the member. Examples might include: allegations of inappropriate remarks made during the course of a hearing; allegations of rude or offensive conduct towards others; or unacceptable delays in providing written reasons.
In order to complain you should have directly experienced the issue being complained about. The complaint must be lodged as soon as possible. It becomes more difficult to recall events or actions after a long period of time and the Director of Performance and Development has discretion to reject any complaint which is, in her/his opinion, so out of time as to prevent an effective investigation. This would normally mean that no complaint would be considered more than three months after the subject matter of the complaint. The Director also has the power to reject the complaint on the grounds that it is frivolous, vexatious or malicious.
Where a complaint has been made, but is under investigation or unresolved, in some circumstances it may be appropriate for the Parole Board member to refrain from participating in further panels until the matter has been resolved, or, if deemed appropriate, arrangements may be made to ensure that the complainant and the person about whom the complaint has been made do not work together on a professional basis. Decisions will only be taken following consultation with the Chair, or in the absence of the Chair, with the Vice Chair of the Board, who may decide that the public interest is best served by such actions being taken.
Every effort will be made to resolve all complaints as quickly as possible and, depending on the complexity of the issue, time limits will normally be set as follows -- seven days for acknowledgement to a letter or an investigation report, 14 days for the completion of any interviews by an investigating officer, and a further seven days for submission of any reports. However, these time limits may well need to be extended for reasons beyond the control of the individuals concerned and, if this becomes the case, all parties will be kept informed of the revised timescales.
Upon receipt of a complaint about a part time member of the Board, the Director of Performance and Development shall screen the complaint to check that it meets the criteria for investigation. If it does not and the decision is therefore that the complaint should be rejected, then the complainant will be informed in writing of this decision, with reasons, within seven days.
If the Director of Performance and Development accepts the complaint as meeting the criteria for investigation, then she/he will appoint an Investigating Officer from a small pool of trained people, who will normally be retired former Members of the Board. The complainant will be advised within seven days that their complaint is under investigation.
On receipt of the complaint the Investigating Officer will send a copy of it within seven days to the person complained about, inviting his/her comments, to be received within the following seven days. A specific request for further time should be considered sympathetically. Should the matter complained about have occurred in the presence of others, they will also be asked for their comments within a similar timescale although the precise details of the complaint will not necessarily be provided. The Investigating Officer will be free to decide whether to take written comments and/or to hold meetings for the purpose of clarification. Such meetings to be held within 14 days of the commencement of the investigation, where practicable.
Once the investigation is complete, the Investigating Officer will prepare and submit a report to the Director of Performance and Development outlining the relevant findings.
The Director of Performance and Development will make one of the following decisions based on the evidence presented and will make a formal response in writing within seven days of the receipt of the report from the Investigating Officer.
a) The complaint has no substance. The Director of Performance and Development will write to the complainant, copied to the member, to this effect.
b) It is not possible to resolve the complaint because, for example, the only evidence is the conflicting views of the complainant and the member involved. The Director of Performance and Development will write to the complainant, copied to the member, to this effect.
c) The complaint is upheld in whole or in part. The Director of Performance and Development will decide what remedial action, if any, is appropriate -- which could include guidance, training, advice, reappraisal of the member.
d) Make a recommendation to the Chair of the Board for a formal hearing to take place in order to reach a determination and disposal. Any such hearing will follow the process laid down in the Code of Conduct procedures.
Both the complainant and the person about whom the complaint has been made have the right to appeal against the decision of the Director of Performance and Development. A letter outlining the grounds of appeal should be sent to the Chief Executive within 14 days of the receipt of a decision letter. The Chief Executive will make such further inquiries as appear necessary and her/his decision will be final.
Any complaint about a full-time member of the Board should be reviewed by the Chief Executive in place of the Director of Performance & Development, using the same procedure outlined above.
Documentation on complaints will remain confidential and will be retained on secure personal files kept by the Director of Performance and Development. Any statistical returns on overall complaints and outcomes will be anonymised.
Grenadier House, 99-105 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2DX
Telephone 0845 251 2220