Alex Norris MP — IPP Parliamentary Question, 16 March 2021

Alex Norris MP — IPP Parliamentary Question, 16 March 2021

Andy Burnham has said that he has asked Justice Secretary Alex Norris MP to review the IPP sentence.

This is particularly significant because Alex Norris has previously raised the issue of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) in Parliament himself.

On 16 March 2021, Alex Norris MP asked the Secretary of State for Justice:

“What plans his Department has to review imprisonment for public protection sentences.”

The Government responded on 22 March 2021, stating that IPP sentences were kept under review and referring to the IPP Action Plan and existing routes to safe release.

This parliamentary question is important because it demonstrates that Alex Norris has been directly engaged with the issue of IPP for several years. Now, as Justice Secretary, he has the opportunity to go further and address the continuing injustice faced by people who remain trapped under these abolished sentences.

IPP prisoners must be included in the early release scheme

Alex Norris must also add IPP prisoners to the early release scheme, ensuring that those who are no longer considered a risk to the public are prioritised.

This would not mean putting public protection at risk. On the contrary, any release should be based on an individual's current risk, behaviour, rehabilitation, time served and professional risk assessments. Those who continue to present a significant and demonstrable risk to the public should remain subject to the appropriate safeguards.

However, where professionals have assessed that continued imprisonment is no longer necessary to protect the public, there is no justification for keeping someone imprisoned indefinitely simply because they were given an IPP sentence that Parliament has since abolished.

This should include:

IPP prisoners who are significantly over their original tariff;

those who have completed the required rehabilitation programmes;

those assessed as low risk of serious harm;

those who are elderly or experiencing serious mental or physical health difficulties;

IPP prisoners who have been recalled but have committed no further offence (NFA) and are being held because of a breach or alleged breach of licence conditions;

and IPP prisoners who have been recalled following a further offence, where a current risk assessment demonstrates that continued imprisonment is no longer necessary or proportionate.

Particular consideration should be given to those recalled with no further offence. Where there has been no new criminal offence and the evidence demonstrates that the individual can safely live in the community under appropriate supervision, continued imprisonment should not be automatic.

The Government should also urgently examine those IPP prisoners who are already before the Parole Board and those who have served many years beyond their tariff.

The objective should be simple: protect the public, but do not imprison people indefinitely when the evidence shows that they no longer need to be detained for public protection.

The IPP sentence was abolished for new cases because it was recognised as fundamentally unjust. The Government must now address the continuing injustice for those who remain trapped within the legacy IPP system.

Source: UK Parliament — Written Question 169946

Read Alex Norris MP’s question and the Government’s response:

Official Parliament record — Alex Norris MP’s IPP question