The Secretary of State Was Asked – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 7 March 2017.
Christopher Chope
Conservative, Christchurch
12:00,
7 March 2017
How many people are serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection which have lasted for more than twice the length of their original sentence.
Sam Gyimah
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
As at
Christopher Chope
Conservative, Christchurch
I thank my hon. Friend for that depressing statistic. My constituent has served not twice but five times the length of his original sentence. Having been sentenced to two and a half years for actual bodily harm, he has been in prison for 12 and a half years. When is he going to be released?
Sam Gyimah
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
The hon. Gentleman is obviously aware that the IPP tariff was introduced by the last Labour Government, and abolished by the Conservative Administration in 2012. Our efforts are now focused on giving IPP prisoners the support, opportunities and motivation to progress more quickly so that, when they are reviewed by the parole board, they have the best possible prospect of securing release. We are tackling delays in the system and have identified what more needs to be done. A specific unit is looking at individual cases in order to progress them as quickly as possible.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.