Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Graham of Edmonton (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 20 January 2009.

Prisoners: Early Release

Question: My Lords, is the Prison Officers’ Association actively involved in discussions prior to those releases?

Answer: My Lords, of course the prison administration in each prison takes these matters very seriously. Before a home detention curfew can be awarded to a prisoner, there will clearly have been many discussions about whether the prisoner is appropriate, and that will include prison officers. As for the end-of-custody licence, provided that the prisoner meets the qualification—that is, that he or she is serving a sentence of more than four months and less than four years, is not imprisoned for serious violence or terrorist offences and is not on the sexual offences register—they will automatically be released up to 18 days before their sentence ends.

Secondary information