Written Question: IPP Appeals

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation by the Court of Appeal in Haycock v R (EWCA Crim 1105) that there should be a systematic review process to ensure that individuals still subject to imprisonment for public protection and detention for public protection sentences are adequately identified and provided with legal advice.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Lemos, CMG, CBE): The Ministry of Justice publishes routine data on prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences in custody in the Offender Management Statistics publication. This is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.

Prison staff are required to assist any prisoner who wishes to request legal advice by providing lists of legal advisers, supplying appropriate forms, and assisting prisoners to complete them where requested due to language or literacy difficulties.

Criminal legal aid is available for eligible IPP and DPP offenders for parole proceedings and for related preliminary or incidental proceedings. Information on finding a legal aid adviser is available at: Find a Legal Aid Adviser or Family Mediator. Alternatively, organisations, such as the Association of Prison Lawyers or the Prisoners' Advice Service, may be able to assist in finding a prison law adviser.

On 1 September, the Lord Chancellor announced that the Government will bring an end to the sentence for those who continue to serve it and will bring forward legislation to do this by the end of this Parliament. These are complex cases, involving important public protection and victim considerations. Reform will take time to get right.