Media information policy

Disclosure of information to the media

General

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.

We are committed to publishing as much information as possible on our website and to answering requests for information from the media about the work of the Board.  All such requests are treated as requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will only be refused in accordance with that Act.  

Freedom of Information and Data Protection

Any request for information relating to a prisoner is likely to be refused on the basis of the exemption contained in section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act (personal data exemption).

Personal data includes information such as the date, place and outcome of the Parole Board's deliberations on prisoners who have applied for release into the community on parole or life licence, as well as the information contained within their dossier.

Serious further offences

The Parole Board may in exceptional circumstances disclose details of decisions, reasons and Review Committee findings in cases of serious further offending.  As much of this information will consist of sensitive personal data relating to the prisoner concerned, the Board will need to ensure that any disclosure is in accordance with the law, in particular the Data Protection Act 1998.  Factors that will be taken into account include the fact that some of this information will already be in the public domain (by reason of the prisoner having committed the further offence) and the public interest in disclosure of this information. 

A balancing exercise will be carried out by the Board in each case as to whether or not the public interest in having access to the information outweighs any duty of confidentiality to the prisoner. Care will be taken to release only so much information as is necessary in a particular case having taken all relevant factors into consideration.

Selective reporting of decisions

The Parole Board may in some instances respond to selective and potentially misleading or inaccurate media reporting of its decisions.

A balancing exercise will be carried out by the Board in each case as to whether or not the public interest in disclosure outweighs any duty of confidentiality to the prisoner. Care will be taken to release only so much information as is necessary in a particular case having taken all relevant factors into consideration.

August 2007

The Parole Board for England and Wales

Grenadier House, 99-105 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2DX

Telephone 0845 251 2220