Written question asked by Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 15 July 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 21 July 2009. It was answered by Bridget Prentice (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Parole

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners in each prison who were eligible for parole had been sitting (i) under a month, (ii) between one and three months, (iii) between three and six months and (iv) over six months for a parole hearing on the latest date for which figures are available.

Answer: As at 30 June 2009, the number of indeterminate sentenced prisoners referred to the Parole Board where the target for a parole hearing has passed are as follows:"(i) 223 under a month;""(ii) 451 between one and three months;""(iii) 213 between three and six months; and""(iv) 192 over six months."A further 95 cases have had hearing dates cancelled or deferred and will need new hearing dates arranged.In relation to determinate sentence prisoners, the Parole Board has no backlog of cases awaiting parole consideration.To provide figures broken down by gender and prison could be done only at a disproportionate cost.

Secondary information