PAROLE BOARD FOR
ENGLAND AND WALES News Release (PR/01/2007) issued by The Government
News Network on 4 April 2007
The Parole Board
today published its Business Plan for 2007/08, and Corporate Plan
for 2007/2010 setting out aims, objectives and targets for the
next three years. The Plans detail how the Board will manage a
transformation of its work and workload as it moves towards an
increasingly oral hearing based system. The Board's main aim
is the protection of the public and the Plans will provide the
support and direction needed to meet this goal.
The introduction of indeterminate public protection sentences,
brought in by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and the impact of a
number of important judicial review decisions will significantly
increase the workload of the Board and in particular the number of
oral hearings that we hold. Projected figures suggest that the
number of oral hearings for IPP cases will rise from 500 in
2007/08 to 2,150 in 2009/10. Lifer oral hearings will continue to
grow, but more slowly from 1,600 in 2007/08 to 1,800 in 2009/10.
In order to maintain high quality risk assessment at the same
time as dealing with the increasing workload within tight resource
constraints the Board is planning a radical rethink about the way
that it goes about its business. It is also very aware of the need
to factor in environmental issues in its developing strategy, for
instance to reduce both the amount of paper that it uses and the
distances that members are asked to travel in order to save money
and minimise its carbon footprint as an organisation.
The Corporate Plan sets out a number of projects for the Board to
help meet these objectives. They include:
* Better use of technology and electronic dossiers in appropriate
cases to make significant savings in paper and postage costs.
Thanks to capital funding of £120,000 from the Home Office laptop
computers have now been purchased and are being rolled out to all Parole
* Board members to enable them to work from home using a secure
internet link. The funding has also allowed the Board to purchase
its own video link equipment.
* A greater use of regional hearings and single members, properly
trained and accredited, reviewing selected dossiers at home to
achieve efficiencies in both members' fees and travel and
subsistence. Trials have already been carried out using regional
panels, instead of always asking members to travel to London for
paper hearings. This regional panel programme will be stepped up
significantly over the next year or so.
* A greater use of video conferencing for selected oral hearings
to make more intensive use of member time and reduce the costs of
travel and subsistence. Following on from a two-year pilot scheme,
the Prison Service has now agreed to roll out Parole Board video
link oral hearings to all 75 locations within their video estate.
* A comprehensive environmental impact assessment so that the
Board can develop approaches which will further reduce the amount
of paper being used and the transportation costs of members and
staff through the better use of technology.
The Corporate Plan for 2007 to 2010 identifies three strategic
aims for the Parole Board:
* Aim 1 - To make risk assessments
which are rigorous, fair and timely with the primary aim of
protecting the public and which contribute to the rehabilitation
of prisoners where appropriate.
* Aim 2 - To demonstrate
effective and accountable corporate governance by maintaining
strong internal control, setting clear objectives and managing
corporate risk, and to deliver best value by optimum use of
resources.
* Aim 3 - To promote the independence of and public
confidence in the work of the Board whilst effectively managing change.
Parole Board Chairman, Sir Duncan Nichol, said:
"The next three years will see a transformation of the work
and workload of the Board as the changes brought in by the
Criminal Justice Act 2003 begin to take effect. One of the key
challenges facing us as a Board will be to respond effectively to
the implications of indeterminate public protection sentences,
especially where the tariff is a very short one.
"We will also need to consider the profile of the
Board's membership as we move towards an increasingly oral
hearing based system. Maintaining high quality risk assessment
must remain our top priority and we will continue to focus on this
with progressive plans for member development and accreditation.
"A major change at the beginning of this three year plan is
the transfer of the Board's sponsorship from the Home Office
to the newly created Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007. We look
forward to the opportunities offered by the move and will commit
ourselves to ensuring the change is a positive one."
Parole Board Chief Executive, Christine Glenn, said:
"The Board actively defends its independence and we will
work to ensure that the Board continues to be, and is perceived to
be, properly independent. At the same time we recognise our
interdependence on others for the effective delivery of our
mission to protect the public and we will continue to work closely
with our partners in the criminal justice system to do just that.
"We welcome the increased importance of the victim
perspective and the development of the Government agenda around
rebalancing the criminal justice system as a central plank to our
agenda over the next three years."
The caseload projections are:
Type of case 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10
Discretionary Conditional Release 7,300 6,100 3,800
Extended Public Protection 1,178 1,495 1,577
Lifer first reviews on paper only 260 300 325
Indeterminate Public Protection first 125 350 500
reviews on paper only
Lifer/IPP advice cases on papers only 300 375 425
Lifer oral hearing reviews 1,600 1,700 1,800
IPP oral hearing reviews 500 1,075 2,150
Lifer/IPP recall oral hearings 200 250 300
Determinate recalls (paper) 16,400 *N/A *N/A
Determinate recalls (oral) *N/A *N/A *N/A
*The Home Office has been unable to provide us with projections
of our workload on determinate recalls beyond 2007/08.
Notes to Editors
The Parole Board is an independent body that
works with its criminal justice partners to protect the public by
risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can be safely
released into the community. The Parole Board was established
under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 to advise
the Home Secretary on the early release of prisoners. The Criminal
Justice and Public Order Act 1994 established the Board as an
Executive Non-Departmental Public Body.
The Parole Board's aims and objectives are linked closely
with those of the Home Office in seeking to reduce re-offending
and in protecting the public. The Board works closely with the
Home Office, the Probation Service and the Prison Service,
voluntary organisations, the legal profession and others involved
in the criminal justice system. The Business Plan 2007/08 and
Corporate Plan 2007/2010 have been formally approved by Home
Office Ministers.
Copies of the Parole Board Business Plan 2007/08 and Corporate
Plan 2007/2010 can be downloaded from http://www.paroleboard.gov.uk
For further information look on the Parole Board website at http://www.paroleboard.gov.uk