To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time served in prison by (a) men and (b) women on mandatory life sentences was for those who were released from prison in each of the last five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time served in prison by (a) men and (b) women sentenced for murder was for those who were released from prison in each of the last five years.

The table shows the average time served by men and women sentenced to mandatory life, the only sentence available to the Courts for those convicted of murder, who were released from custody in each of the last five years.

As with any large-scale recording system, administrative IT systems are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Public protection is our priority. It is for the independent Parole Board to review the detention of those prisoners serving mandatory life sentences who have completed their tariff period. The Board will direct the release of these prisoners only if it is satisfied that the levels of risk posed to the general public are reduced enough that the National Probation Service and its partner agencies can safely manage them in the community under supervision.