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Parole

Volume 448: debated on Wednesday 12 July 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2006, Official Report, column 1705W, on parole, what measures have been put in place since 2001-02 to reduce the number of parolees breaking the terms of their release. (77433)

Probation National Standards require breach action to be considered after one unacceptable failure to comply with the sentence. Where breach action is not undertaken after one unacceptable failure to comply, a formal written warning of the consequences of further failure may be issued. Ultimately breach or recall action will be taken after the offender's third unacceptable failure to comply. The target for the national probation service to take such enforcement action within 10 working days is met in 90 per cent. of cases. In 2001-02 the enforcement rate for all offenders released on licence was 58 per cent. In 2005-06, this had improved to 93 per cent. The Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements were introduced in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and came into effect in April 2001. They were strengthened through the Criminal Justice Act 2003. They provide the framework for the police, prison and probation services to supervise the most serious sexual and violent offenders and to take swift enforcement action where such offenders engage in behaviour which demonstrates a risk of harm to the public.