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Prisoners' Release

Ministry of Justice written question – answered am ar 27 Chwefror 2024.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Sharon Hodgson Sharon Hodgson Chair, Finance Committee (Commons), Chair, Finance Committee (Commons)

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were on temporary release on 14 February 2023; and what the (a) maximum and (b) mean number of days was that each prisoner was on temporary release.

Photo of Sharon Hodgson Sharon Hodgson Chair, Finance Committee (Commons), Chair, Finance Committee (Commons)

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were on temporary release on 14 February 2023 by (a) prison and (b) offence.

Photo of Sharon Hodgson Sharon Hodgson Chair, Finance Committee (Commons), Chair, Finance Committee (Commons)

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were on temporary release by (a) prison and (b) sentence length on 14 February 2023.

Photo of Edward Argar Edward Argar The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice

The Prison Rules in England and Wales provide that a prisoner may be allowed to leave prison for short periods on temporary licence (ROTL). The main purpose of ROTL is to aid resettlement and suitable, risk assessed prisoners may be allowed out during the day to, for example, work, attend college, attend an interview or maintain/re-establish links with their family. They are also, once at the required stage of their sentence, allowed to apply for temporary release overnight for a maximum of four consecutive nights a month.

The decision to allow temporary release is taken by the prison governor, on behalf of the Secretary of State, who must always balance the needs of the prisoner and the purpose of the ROTL applied for, against the need to maintain public safety and the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system. Each decision is taken on a case-by-case basis to safeguard the public. Category A prisoners, remand prisoners, and prisoners subject to extradition proceedings are not eligible for ROTL under any circumstances. Any breaches can result in more time behind bars.

There is nothing unusual about 14 February and this long-established scheme runs steadily throughout the year.

Data on the number of individuals recorded as temporarily released from prison on 14 February 2023, broken down by (a) maximum and (b) mean number of days.

Table 1: Number of prisoners on temporary release (ROTL) on 14 February 2023, in England and Wales.

Number of prisoners

on ROTL

Maximum number

of days on ROTL

Mean number

of days on ROTL

1,738

6

1.43

Data sources and quality

The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Source: Prison NOMIS

PQ-10767 (Ministry of Justice; Data and Analysis (Directorate))

Data on the number of individuals recorded as temporarily released from prison on 14 February 2023 broken down by (a) prison and (b) offence.

Table 2a: Number of prisoners on temporary release (ROTL) on 14 February 2023, in England and Wales, broken down by establishment

Establishment

Number of prisoners

on ROTL

Askham Grange

37

Berwyn

*

Cookham Wood

3

Downview

8

Drake Hall

10

East Sutton Park

39

Eastwood Park

6

Ford

163

Grendon/Spring Hill

119

Hatfield

125

Haverigg

38

Hollesley Bay

206

Huntercombe

11

Kirkham

129

Kirklevington Grange

93

Leyhill

87

Low Newton

4

North Sea Camp

63

Northumberland

*

Norwich

34

Oakwood

9

Peterborough (Female)

5

Peterborough (Male)

*

Prescoed

86

Send

3

Standford Hill (Sheppey Cluster)

197

Stoke Heath

5

Styal

13

Sudbury

138

Thorn Cross

103

Table 2b: Number of prisoners on temporary release (ROTL) on 14 February 2023, in England and Wales, broken down by offence group

Main Offence Group

Number of prisoners

on ROTL

Violence against the person

485

Sexual offences

108

Robbery

98

Theft Offences

97

Criminal damage and arson

16

Drug offences

754

Possession of weapons

69

Public order offences

*

Miscellaneous crimes against society

48

Fraud Offences

60

Summary Non-Motoring

*

Summary Motoring

0

Offence not recorded

0

Data sources and quality

The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Disclosure control

An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of two or one. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient.

Source: Prison NOMIS

PQ-10768 (Ministry of Justice; Data and Analysis (Directorate))

Data on the number of individuals recorded as temporary released from prison on 14 February 2023 broken down by (a) prison and (b) sentence length:

Table 3: Number of prisoners on temporary release (ROTL) on 14 February 2023, in England and Wales, broken down by sentence length

Sentence length

Number of prisoners

on ROTL

Fine defaulter

*

Less than or equal to 6 months

*

More than 6 months to less than 12 months

*

12 months to less than 2 years

3

2 years to less than 4 years

86

4 years to less than 5 years

149

5 years to less than 7 years

341

7 years to less than 10 years

359

10 years to less than 14 years

280

14 years or more (excluding indeterminate sentences)

173

Extended determinate sentence

71

IPP

41

Life sentences

172

Recalls

50

Sentence length not recorded

9

Data sources and quality

The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Disclosure control

An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of two or one. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient.

Source: Prison NOMIS

PQ-10769 (Ministry of Justice; Data and Analysis (Directorate))

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