The Parole Board. Working with others to protect the public.
Policy and guidance
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The work of the Parole Board is guided by a number of different directions, rules and stated policies. Some of these, such as the Secretary of State's Directions or the Parole Board Rules, have been issued by Ministers others, such as the new policy on lifer oral hearings have been agreed by the Parole Board Management Board.
The Parole 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 about our policy and practice in the Freedom of Information section of this website.
In considering the cases before them members of the Parole Board are guided by Directions issued by the Secretary of State under Section 32(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 or Section 239(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
In arranging the timetable and procedures for oral hearings the Parole Board follows the Parole Board Rules made by the Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 32(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.
In February 2007 the Parole Board adopted a change of policy in relation to the granting of oral hearings to prisoners in Smith and West cases.
In February 2007 the Parole Board also adopted a change of policy in relation to extending oral hearings for life sentence prisoners who were being recommended for release or transfer to open conditions
In November 2009 the Parole Board revised the oral hearing listing prioritisation framework, which it first introduced in April 2009 to reduce delays in oral hearings by prioritising older cases which were unable to be heard when originally scheduled.
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Following on from the introduction of the Parole Board (Amendment) Rules 2009 the Parole Board has agreed a policy for refusing oral hearings.
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In January 2008 the Parole Board launched a system of intensive case management to support Parole Board members in their deliberations, especially in the cases of those sexual of violent offenders that pose particular difficulties for risk assessment.
The Parole Board is committed to publishing as much information as possible about policy and practice under Freedom of Information guidelines.
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