Member

People will ask: why should we make any favourable changes for this category? If such prisoners are denied the opportunity to be referred to the Parole Board at the halfway point then, against the stated purpose of the Bill, this will create an incentive for prisoners sentenced for more serious offences to disengage from rehabilitative opportunities. Why bother if it makes no difference? Amidst the overcrowding crisis, we must not lose sight of the overarching purposes of sentencing, one of which is to reduce reoffending. This amendment provides an important opportunity to incentivise rehabilitation and a reduction in risk at the discretion of the Parole Board for the most serious cohort of determinate prisoners, bringing the Parole Board back to its original function of overseeing the safe and early release of determinate prisoners.