The Parole Board Rules 2019
| Year | 2019 |
2019 No. 1038
Prisons, England And Wales
The Parole Board Rules 2019
Made 20th June 2019
Laid before Parliament 24th June 2019
Coming into force 22th July 2019
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 239(5), 330(3) and (4) of the Criminal Justice Act 20031, makes the following Rules.
PART 1
Introduction
Citation, commencement and revocation
1.—(1) These Rules may be cited as the Parole Board Rules 2019 and come into force on 22nd July 2019.
(2) The Parole Board Rules 20162and the Parole Board (Amendment) Rules 20183are revoked.
Interpretation
2. In these Rules—
“1997 Act” means the Crime (Sentences) Act 19974;
“2003 Act” means the Criminal Justice Act 2003;
“assessment panel” means a panel appointed under rule 5(4) to consider reconsideration applications under rule 28;
“barrister” means an individual who has been called to the Bar by an Inn of Court and holds a current practising certificate;
“Board” means the Parole Board5;
“Board chair” means the chairman of the Board appointed under paragraph 2 of Schedule 19 to the 2003 Act;
“case” means any matter referred to the Board by the Secretary of State, including a request for advice;
“custodian” means a prison officer under the Prison Act 19526, an officer of a contracted-out prison under the Criminal Justice Act 19917, or any person employed to work in a prison;
“determinate sentence” means a sentence served by a fixed-term prisoner as defined by section 237 of the 2003 Act;
“direct application” means an application made by a prisoner directly to the Board under rule 31;
“duty member” means a member of the Board appointed under rule 4(2);
“extended sentence” means an extended sentence for certain violent or sexual offences under sections 226A, 226B, 227 and 228 of the 2003 Act8, or section 85 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 20009;
“indeterminate sentence” means a sentence listed under section 34(2) of the 1997 Act;
“members of staff” means employees appointed under paragraph 5 of Schedule 19 to the 2003 Act;
“offender” means a prisoner or a person released from prison on licence;
“oral hearing” means a hearing before a panel appointed under rule 5(2);
“panel” means a panel of one or more members appointed under rule 5(1), (2), (3) or (5);
“panel chair” means the person who is chairing a panel by virtue of rule 5(6);
“party” means a prisoner or the Secretary of State;
“previous review” means the Secretary of State’s previous referral of the prisoner’s case to the Board relating to the prisoner’s release under the 1997 Act or 2003 Act;
“prison” includes a young offender institution or any other institution where a prisoner is detained;
“prison director” means a person appointed under section 85(1)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991;
“prisoner” means a person detained in a young offender institution or detained or imprisoned in any other institution, excluding a person on remand;
“prison governor” means a person acting as governor of a prison as required by section 7 of the Prison Act 1952;10
“provisional decision” means a decision which is not yet final because; (a) it is subject to an application for an oral hearing under rule 20(1); or (b) it is subject to reconsideration under rule 28;
“public holiday” means Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 197111in England and Wales;
“recall” means where an offender is serving a sentence in the community on licence and the Secretary of State revokes the licence returning the offender to custody;
“request for advice” means any matter referred to the Board where it is the Board’s duty to advise the Secretary of State under section 239(2) of the 2003 Act;
“solicitor” means a solicitor of the Senior Courts;
“working day” means any day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday.
Application
3.—(1) These Rules apply to all cases and direct applications before the Board.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), cases referred to the Board before the date on which these Rules come into force continue under these Rules, and are treated as if the case was referred under these Rules.
(3) Applications for reconsideration under rule 28 can only be made where a decision that is eligible for reconsideration is made on or after the date these Rules come into force.
(4) Any steps taken in cases before the date on which these Rules come into force are deemed to have been taken under these Rules.
PART 2
General powers and provisions
Delegation and appointment of functions
4.—(1) The Board chair may delegate any of the Board chair’s functions as set out in these Rules to any other member of the Board.
(2) The Board chair may appoint a member of the Board to carry out any function as required by the Rules.
(3) The Board chair may delegate the following functions to the Board’s members of staff—
(a)
(a) the appointment of panels under rule 5;
(b)
(b) only where it is necessary to allow for a third party to comply with a deadline, and not where it would result in the adjournment or deferral of a listed hearing, the variation of—
(i) the timetable for proceedings under rule 6(3)(a), including deadlines set in directions;
(ii) the deadline for representatives to submit written representations and evidence as set in rule 18(1).
Appointment of panels
5.—(1) For all cases which have been referred to the Board, the Board chair must appoint one or more members of the Board to constitute a panel to consider, in accordance with rule 19, the release of a prisoner on the papers, or to advise the Secretary of State.
(2) If, following consideration on the papers under rule 19, a case is directed to be considered at an oral hearing, the Board chair must appoint one or more members of the Board to constitute a panel to hear that case in accordance with rules 22 to 26.
(3) If following consideration of whether a case should be decided on the papers following receipt of further evidence, in accordance with rule 21, a direction is made for the case to be decided by a panel on the papers, the Board chair must appoint one or more members of the Board to constitute a panel to make a decision on the release of the prisoner on the papers.
(4) For any application made for reconsideration of a provisional decision under rule 28, the Board chair must appoint one or more members of the Board to constitute an assessment panel to consider the application.
(5) For any application made for the Board to consider the termination of an offender’s licence under rule 31, the Board chair must appoint one or more members of the Board to constitute a panel to consider the application.
(6) Any panel or assessment panel appointed under paragraphs (1) to (5) is to be chaired—
(a)
(a) where a panel or assessment panel is constituted of more than one member, by the member of the panel appointed by the Board chair for this purpose;
(b)
(b) where a panel or assessment panel is constituted of only one member, by that member.
(7) A person appointed under paragraph (1) may, in the same case, sit on a panel at an oral hearing appointed under paragraph (2).
(8) A person appointed under paragraphs (1) to (3) to consider a case on the papers or at an oral hearing must not subsequently be appointed to an assessment panel for reconsideration of that case under paragraph (4).
Case management and directions
6.—(1) A panel chair or duty member may be appointed in accordance with rule 4 to carry out case management functions and may at any time make, vary or revoke a direction.
(2) The panel chair or duty member appointed under paragraph (1) may make any direction necessary in the interests of justice, to effectively manage the case or for such other purpose as the panel chair or duty member considers appropriate.
(3) Such directions may in particular relate to—
(a)
(a) the timetable for the proceedings;
(b)
(b) the service of information or a report;
(c)
(c) the submission of evidence;
(d)
(d) the attendance of a witness or observer.
(4) A direction given under this rule may not relate to withholding information or reports; such directions are governed by rule 17.
(5) A party or third party who is subject to a direction may apply in writing for a direction to be given, varied or revoked.
(6) An application under paragraph (5) must—
(a)
(a) specify any direction or variation sought and the reasons for the direction or variation, and
(b)
(b) be served on the other party, and any third party (if applicable).
(7) Where a third party makes an application under paragraph (5), the Board must serve the application on the parties under paragraph (6)(b).
(8) Where a party, or third party, has applied for a direction to be given, varied or revoked under paragraph (5), either party or the third party (if applicable) may—
(a)
(a) make written representations about the application;
(b)
(b) where the panel chair or duty member thinks it necessary, make oral submissions at a directions hearing held under rule 7.
(9) The power to give, vary or revoke directions may be exercised in the absence of the parties.
(10) The Board must serve on the parties, and third party (if applicable), any directions given, varied or revoked as soon as practicable.
(11) The panel chair or duty member may adjourn or defer the proceedings to obtain further information or for such other purpose as they consider appropriate.
(12) Where the panel chair who is conducting an oral hearing adjourns or defers proceedings under paragraph (11) without a further hearing date being fixed, they must give the parties at least 3 weeks’ notice of the date, time and place of the resumed hearing (unless the parties agree to shorter notice).
(13) Any decision to adjourn or defer an oral hearing...
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