IPP Prisoners: Recall System
Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Contributions
Question
Asked by
Lord Garnier
To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reform the recall system for prisoners released on licence serving indeterminate sentences for public protection.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Lemos) (Lab)
My Lords, the Lord Chancellor has announced that we will bring forward legislation to end the IPP sentence once and for all by the end of this Parliament. In the meantime, HMPPS has strengthened safeguards around recall decisions, improved quality assurance, streamlined recall processes and expanded the use of risk-assessed recall reviews to support swifter re-releases where it is safe to do so.
Lord Garnier (Con)
My Lords, it was interesting to hear what the Minister had to say. Earlier this year, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, and I studied about 80 sets of IPP recall papers, provided to us by the noble Lord, Lord Timpson. Many of the decisions were poorly reasoned or plainly irrational and had nothing to do with public safety. Does the Minister agree that recall should not be used lazily and defensively and only when it is in the interests of justice?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
Of course, recall should be used the interests of justice and not lazily, but I have to say to the noble and learned Lord that recall remains a vital public protection measure and that safeguards and oversight have been strengthened for IPP cases, partly as a result of his work. There has been a 31% decrease in IPP recalls in 2025 compared with 2024. All IPP licence recall decisions are now agreed by senior HMPPS decision-makers precisely to mitigate the point that the noble and learned Lord makes.
Lord Woodley (Lab)
My Lords, it is fantastic to see that we are now moving along the road of getting justice for IPP prisoners, but, once an IPP prisoner has been deemed safe and released by the Parole Board, that should be the end of the matter: IPP finished. If they are recalled for no further offence, it should be for the normal 56 days, like every other prisoner on a regular sentence, not back to the torturous, indefinite IPP sentence. For the sake of fairness, justice and equality for all prisoners, does the Minister agree?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for welcoming our decision to bring forward legislation to end IPP sentences by the end of this Parliament. A further announcement will be made later this year. We are actively working on the right approach to ending the IPP sentence once and for all, but also to put in place a careful and planned approach to recalls. Of course, we want to do the right thing and our approach is one of principle, not just convenience.
Lord Carter of Haslemere (CB)
My Lords, when an IPP prisoner is recalled to prison, they usually spend at least two years or more in prison—so it is effectively a resentencing exercise, but by a probation officer, not a judge. Should they not at least have been charged with an offence by a police officer, rather than merely exhibiting behaviour which, in the view of a probation officer, might lead to an offence?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
As I have said, we do need recall provisions: there must be some jeopardy if offenders break the conditions of their licence. On the specific point about the time it takes, we have addressed this, partly by what I said earlier, namely that decisions are now agreed by senior decision-makers. We introduced reforms in the Victims and Prisoners Act that reduced the number of IPPs on licence in the community by 936 and—this is the really important point—we are starting to use the risk-assessed recall review, and that has led to the re-release of 61 IPP prisoners many months before their parole hearing would have been scheduled.
Baroness Hamwee (LD)
My Lords, in the work that the Government are doing towards final arrangements, will they consult families of IPP prisoners? Many of us have heard so much from the families, who understand what prisoners have gone through and what they may, or may not, be capable of on release.
Lord Lemos (Lab)
Yes, we will. I can reassure the noble Baroness about that. Following the Lord Chancellor’s announcement on IPPs, victim liaison officers have started to issue notices to victims, with 375 notices already issued.
Lord Moylan (Con)
My Lords, over the last few decades, the use of recall by the Probation Service has moved from being a last resort to something that is much more common. That seems to me a policy and process decision in which Ministers could rightly intervene without getting involved in individual cases. Is the Minister willing to agree that Ministers should look at how frequently recall is used by the Probation Service, with a view to restoring the earlier position?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I agree with all that, except the last phrase about going back to the earlier position. We introduced the risk-assessed recall review because we wanted to put an end to the situation the noble Lord describes in which, once people are recalled, they face a long period before their case is reconsidered. That is what gives rise to the feeling that they are in effect serving a new sentence. This is not what we want, and it is why we tried to mitigate those delays. On the wider point about policy, we are monitoring these trends and will keep looking at them.
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP)
My Lords, I am sure the Minister understands that some of the IPP prisoners are so badly damaged by their long incarceration that they would find it extremely difficult to move into mainstream society. Is enough help given to them—for example, housing, financial and medical support, if that is what is needed?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
That is precisely the reason why, as we think through how we will end this sentence, we are thinking about what support we need to put in place, both before and after their release. I refer to the work my noble friend Lord Timpson did on the IPP action plan, which sought to ensure that IPP prisoners were in the right sort of prison for them and were getting support while they were still in prison. However, I assure the noble Baroness that the question of support before and after release is top of our list of things to worry about.
Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick (CB)
My Lords, there is a problem with part of the Minister’s Answer—the constant reference, including by the Justice Secretary, to “before the end of this Parliament”. Nobody knows when this Parliament is going to end; it could be 2029 or 2027, in which case, if this issue is not resolved, it will drag on again for a further 30 years. Is it not possible for the Government to bring forward rapid legislation this autumn that deals with the residue of those who have already been released but are recallable at any instant? A simple one-paragraph piece of legislation, similar to what was done for the Post Office workers, could clear the long-term matter up.
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I can reassure the noble Lord that we do not intend to let this drift, but he will understand that I cannot give specific Dispatch Box commitments on dates. Frankly, that is a pessimistic view of how this will go. We are going to do this in this Parliament and are very actively working on it.
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar (Con)
My Lords, it is important in this area, where there is a measure of agreement between the Front Benches and across the House, to make sure that we legislate to make changes in possession of the facts. The proven reoffending rate between July and September 2024 was 29.9%, but there were no equivalent figures for IPP prisoners who had been released. Would the Minister either provide the House with those figures or place the figures in the Library, so that we have the material before us before any changes are made? Will he also undertake to provide that information before making any further changes?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I do not have that information, but I will seek to get it and I will come back to the noble Lord and others about it. On the point of principle that he raises about the risks of reoffending, this relates absolutely to the point I was making to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, that we need to ensure that, when people are released, they are properly supported. That reduces the risk of being recalled. I think all noble Lords recognise that, when anyone leaves prison, there is always a risk of reoffending, and it is our job to get better at preventing that. The way to do that is to stop having overcrowded prisons and overstretched staff.
Lord Berkeley of Knighton (CB)
My Lords, I declare an interest as patron of Music in the Ville in Pentonville. My question is very much to do with rehabilitation, which I know the Minister cares about. One of the things that IPP sentences have engendered is total despair. There is a lack of hope. I have spoken to an IPP prisoner about this, and it would help enormously if prison staff could be in touch with not just families but prisoners themselves, to make them see that there may be light at the end of the tunnel.
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I do agree with the noble Lord about the importance of hope, particularly for this group of prisoners. I can hardly imagine what it would be like to be in prison, serving more than 10 years over your tariff offence. We have to instil that hope. I also agree with the noble Lord that the arts, and music in particular, are one way we might do that.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 5408629.