Provide for resentencing for everyone serving an indeterminate prison sentence

We call upon the UK Government to recognize and safeguard the human rights of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) inmates, by enabling them to be resentenced so indeterminate sentences can be replaced.

The current system has led to prolonged detention beyond initial tariffs, subjecting individuals to what we regard as psychological torture and exacerbating mental health crises.

The IPP continues to cause severe mental degradation. We believe this constitutes a violation of their human rights.

We implore the Government to make provision for the review of all cases, in a way which acknowledges the toll inflicted by prolonged detention and ensures fair, humane, and rehabilitative sentences. Action is needed to end this nightmare, affording all the dignity and rights they deserve.

The issue of IPP sentences remains a top priority for the Lord Chancellor and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Government believes that the Justice Select Committee (JSC) report into the IPP sentence provided a valuable opportunity to take stock and identify areas for improvement which will make a genuine difference to the way that those serving IPP sentences are rehabilitated and supported through safe release, or licence termination, where appropriate.

The JSC recommended undertaking a full resentencing exercise of all remaining IPP offenders. The Government’s view is that retrospectively changing the sentence which was lawfully passed would expose the public to an unacceptable risk. It would inevitably result in the release of many offenders who have committed serious sexual or violence offences, in many cases not even with a period of licensed supervision. It is vital for public protection that those serving the IPP sentence in prison, whether unreleased or recalled following release, are released only when the Parole Board decides that they may be safely managed in the community.

We have amended the Victims and Prisoners Bill to:

a. reduce the qualifying period that triggers the duty to refer an IPP licence to the Parole Board for termination from ten years to three years;

b. include a clear statutory presumption that the IPP licence will be terminated by the Parole Board at the end of the three-year qualifying period;

c. introduce a provision that will automatically terminate the IPP licence two years after the three-year qualifying period in cases where the Parole Board has not terminated the licence and where the offender has not been recalled in the two-year period; and