The Parole Board. Working with others to protect the public.
News
If you are a member of the media and have an inquiry about the work of the Parole Board contact:
Tim Morris, Head of Communications
Daytime 020-7217 0564
Out of hours 07725-927954
E-mail tim.morris5@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
The Parole Board is accountable to Parliament and the public. The Board strives to be as open and as transparent as possible but must do so within the requirements of the law, which require the Board to observe legal restraints on the disclosure of confidential and/or personal information. By promoting better understanding of our processes and the principles underlying our decision making, the Board aims to build greater confidence in the quality of those decisions amongst the public, prisoners and our partner organisations.
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.
The new Parole Board website, which was launched in January 2008, has been short listed for an award in the prestigious Chartered Institute of Public Relations Excellence Awards for 2008 in the website or microsite category.
The Parole Board has welcomed the findings of the National Audit Office report “Protecting the public: the work of the Parole Board”, published today (5 March 2008), looking at the work of the Board and its partners in the criminal justice system.
The Parole Board welcomes the review of the parole process for children that has been carried out by the Howard League and published in their report “Parole 4 Kids”. We have been working closely with both the Howard League and the Youth Justice Board over recent months to focus on issues concerning young people and parole.
Jack Straw has given the first Sir David Hatch Memorial Lecture on the 17th January 2008 at the Gladstone Library, Whitehall
The Parole Board today published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2006/07, reporting on its performance against business plan targets, statistics for determinate sentence and indeterminate sentence prisoners and accounts for the year. The report records the work carried out by the Board last year to maintain its high standards of risk assessment during a year in which it faced considerable financial pressures and increases in workload.
The Parole Board today published its Business Plan for 2007/08, and Corporate Plan for 2007/2010 setting out aims, objectives and targets for the next three years. The Plans detail how the Board will manage a transformation of its work and workload as it moves towards an increasingly oral hearing based system. The Board’s main aim is the protection of the public and the Plans will provide the support and direction needed to meet this goal.
The Parole Board today published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2005/06, reporting on its performance against business plan targets, statistics for determinate sentence and life sentence prisoners and accounts for the year. The report also gives details of the work carried out to improve public confidence during a year which has seen the Board come under public scrutiny as never before.
The Parole Board today published its response to the wide ranging review of the criminal justice system announced by the Home Secretary on 20 July 2006. The review entitled "Rebalancing the criminal justice system" is part of the "Transforming the Home Office" initiative announced by the Home Secretary in July.
As part of his proposals for reform of the Criminal Justice System the Home Secretary, Dr John Reid, today announced two significant reforms of the way that the Parole Board works. This is the initial Parole Board response to these proposals.
The Home Secretary, the Right Honourable Dr John Reid MP on Monday night (22 May 2006) pledged to work with the Parole Board to improve public protection and restore public confidence in the wake of recent high-profile cases. The Home Secretary was speaking to 200 Parole Board members and staff and a number of invited guests when giving the Parole Board Annual Lecture.
The Parole Board deeply regrets the circumstances that led to the death of Naomi Bryant and the fact that she was murdered by a man who had recently been released from prison on life licence following a Parole Board review. I want to convey my personal sympathies and those of the Board to Naomi Bryant’s family for their terrible loss. The Board is committed to doing everything it can to learn the lessons from such cases that will help to help prevent further such tragedies.
The Parole Board today responded to the statement by the Home Secretary on improving the way in which dangerous offenders are identified and managed by announcing the appointment of two distinguished external members to their Review Committee. This move will significantly strengthen the scrutiny of cases where prisoners released on licence have committed further serious offences to ensure that lessons are properly identified and acted upon.
The Parole Board today published its Business Plan for 2006/07, setting out its aims, objectives and targets for the coming 12 months. At a time when decisions made by the Board are coming under ever closer scrutiny the Plan sets out challenging aims and objectives, the most important of which is rigorous risk assessment to underpin the role of the Board in protecting the public.
The Cambridge University based Centre for Public Law, the Institute of Criminology and the Parole Board today announced that they will jointly host a major conference at the Faculty of Law in Cambridge to explore the challenges facing the Parole Board as its role evolves under changing legislation and workloads.
The Parole Board deeply regrets the circumstances that led to the death of Robert Symons and the fact that he was murdered by a man who had recently been released from prison on parole. I want to convey our deepest sympathies to Robert Symons’ family for their terrible loss. The Board is committed to doing everything it can to learn the lessons from such cases that will help to help prevent further such tragedies.
The Parole Board welcomes and will study carefully the Report of the HM Inspectorate of Probation Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the release of Damien Hanson and Elliott White. The issues raised in the Report are rightly ones of great concern to both the public at large and professionals working in the criminal justice field.
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