Finally, the full suite of guidance issued to HMPPS staff on *not* making recommendations at parole reviews

13 December 2022

I have written extensively about the requirements imposed on HMPPS staff not to make recommendations about whether people going though parole should be released or progressed from closed to open conditions. The changes have been confusing for people going through the process. It is difficult to fully explain the position to clients without seeing the guidance that has been issued to staff.

In the course of a number of freedom of information requests I have managed to obtain and publish on this site much of the guidance to assist practitioners and those on parole to understand the new system. In my last blog, I noted that there was some guidance I had been made aware of that had not been disclosed and I sought an internal review.

That review was successful. The reviewer concluded:

“I can confirm that a document titled ‘Prohibition on report writers making a recommendation to the Parole Board as to whether the statutory release test is met: Guidance for Oral Hearings’ was issued by PPCS to HMPPS colleagues via an online information portal in October 2022, which was not shared with you as part of our original response or the subsequent Internal Review. This document provides information on the role of report writers within oral hearings and has now been annexed to this letter. I apologise for this not being shared with you.”

The guidance issued to staff on 4 October 2022, Prohibition on report writers making a recommendation to the Parole Board as to whether the statutory release test is met: Guidance for Oral Hearings is available here. It sends a very clear message to HMPPS report writers that they must not offer a view in oral evidence before the Parole Board despite the Rules only covering written reports and the court in Bailey agreeing with that position.

The full list of guidance issued on this topic and available below is: