The Parole Board. Working with others to protect the public.
Prisoners and families
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To find out more about the Parole Process and your role in it read the information on the Parole Information for Prisoners page.
You can apply from up to six months before you can first be released. When this is will depend upon what sentence you were given when you were convicted. The earliest date will be at the half-way point of your sentence. You can ask your prison parole clerk, or a member of staff or your solicitor for advice.
Six months before you can first be released the prison should give you a form asking whether you want to apply for parole. If you do want to apply for release then you will need to fill in this form and hand it in. If you need help to do this ask your prison parole clerk or a member of staff.
The prison will then put together a file on you, your time in prison and your plans for release. When this file is ready you will get a chance to read it and add anything you want to it in writing. You should get a solicitor to help you with this.
When your file is ready, three members of the Parole Board will meet to discuss your case. You will not be asked to attend this meeting. The Parole Board is not part of the Prison Service and will make its own decision. The panel will be looking at how high they think the risk is that you might commit offences on licence, and whether it is best for you and the public for you to be released.
It can take up to six months from the time when you first apply for the Parole Board panel to get all the right information and meet to decide your case. Once a decision has been made you will be told within a few days.
The Parole Board will write to you in prison with their decision and with the reasons for it. If you are unhappy with any of the reasons then you should talk to your solicitor to see if you can challenge any of them.
You will normally be reviewed once a year.
You can ask your prison parole clerk or a member of staff for help and you can also get advice from your solicitor.
Grenadier House, 99-105 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2DX
Telephone 0845 251 2220