Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to send prisoners returned to jail having broken their licence conditions to a different prison than the one from which they were released.

Andrew Selous

Prisoners recalled to custody having breached the conditions of their licence will be arrested by the police and then taken to the nearest local prison for the area in which they were arrested. Prisoners who, prior to release had been held in the closed training estate or in an open prison, will not therefore be returned to the same prison from which their release took place. Those prisoners who had been held in a local prison prior to release on licence, may be returned to the same establishment if that is the nearest local prison for the area in which they were arrested.

Once returned to a local prison, prisoners will be re-assessed and a decision made on which prison is best suited to their needs, taking into account all factors in the case including the risks they present and other security issues. Prisoners recalled for short periods may remain in the local prison until release unless there are specific reasons, including security reasons, why they should be transferred elsewhere.