Written question asked by Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bach (Labour) on Monday, 5 October 2009.

Prisoners: Indeterminate Sentences

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated increase in prison resources needed to ensure that all prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection receive the resources required to prepare for and take part in parole hearings, including the compilation of parole dossiers, escorts to attend meetings or telephone conferences with Offender Managers and Parole Boards, and the administration of rehabilitation courses.

Answer: As of 8 September 2009, there were 1957 prisoners serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection recorded as being beyond the expiry of their tariff. The most recent calculation of the average cost per year of prison places was in respect of the year 2007-08 and was £39,000 per prisoner per annum. However, the actual cost of each prisoner will vary considerably. To give an accurate estimate of the cost of detaining this specific group of prisoners post-tariff would require a manual examination of each case and as such, would incur disproportionate cost. Data on the number of prisoners held in prison beyond the expiry of their tariff is held on the Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) within the National Offender Management Service. As with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing. The tariff is the minimum period specified by the court to be served by the prisoner for the purposes of punishment and deterrence. Whether a prisoner serving an IPP sentence is suitable for release once his tariff has expired will depend on whether the independent Parole Board judges that the risk of harm which he presents may be safely managed in the community. In 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10, the National Offender Management Service allocated an additional £3 million to improve the completion of assessments and access to interventions for IPP prisoners.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 712 c475-6WA; 5424
Session: 2008-09
Notes: Answer received between Monday 14 September 2009 and Monday 21 September 2009.
Subjects: Costs Parole Prisoners Prisons Prison sentences
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk