The Parole Board (Amendment) Rules 2022
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2022/717 |
| Year | 2022 |
2022 No. 717
Prisons, England And Wales
The Parole Board (Amendment) Rules 2022
Made 28th June 2022
Laid before Parliament 30th June 2022
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 239(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 20031, makes the following Rules:
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Rules may be cited as the Parole Board (Amendment) Rules 2022.
(2) These Rules come into force on 21st July 2022 for all purposes except for rules 19(a)(i) and 19(c)(ii) which come into force on 1st September 2022.
(3) In these Rules, “the 2019 Rules” means the Parole Board Rules 20192.
Amendments to the 2019 Rules
2.—(1) The 2019 Rules are amended as follows.
(2) In rule 2 (interpretation)—
(a)
(a) in the definition of “Board chair” for “chairman” substitute “chair”;
(b)
(b) omit the definition of “direct application”;
(c)
(c) in the definition of “extended sentence” for “or sexual offences under” substitute “, sexual or terrorist offences under sections 254, 266 and 279 of the Sentencing Code, or”;
(d)
(d) in the definition of “panel”, after “(3)” insert “, (4A)”;
(e)
(e) after the definition of “request for advice” insert—
“
“serious terrorism sentence” means a serious terrorism sentence under sections 268A and 282A of the Sentencing Code;
(3) In rule 3(1) (application), omit “and direct applications”.
(4) In rule 4 (delegation and appointment of functions), after paragraph (3)(b)(ii) insert—
“
(c)
(c) in recall cases where the prisoner is serving a determinate sentence, a direction that the case should proceed directly to an oral hearing under rule 19(1)(c).
(5) In rule 5 (appointment of panels)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (3), omit “following receipt of further evidence,”;
(b)
(b) after paragraph (4) insert—
“
4A For any application made to set aside a final decision under rule 28A, the Board chair must appoint one or more members of the Board to constitute a panel to consider the application.
”;
(c)
(c) in paragraph (5), for “application”, in both places it occurs, substitute “reference”.
(6) In rule 6 (case management and directions)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (3), after paragraph (d) insert—
“
(e)
(e) holding a directions hearing or case management conference.
”;
(b)
(b) in paragraph (8)(b), after “directions hearing” insert “or case management conference”.
(7) In rule 7 (directions hearings)—
(a)
(a) in the heading, after “Directions hearings” insert “and case management conferences”;
(b)
(b) in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4) and (6), after “directions hearing”, in each place it occurs, insert “or case management conference”;
(c)
(c) omit paragraph (5).
(8) In rule 12 (date of service)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (2), for “Any” substitute “Unless the Board chair directs otherwise, any”;
(b)
(b) after paragraph (2), insert—
“
2A Any direction by the Board chair under paragraph (2) must specify the date on which the direction takes effect and the date on which it expires.
(9) In rule 14 (observers)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (4), after “to the parties” insert “, including any conditions to be imposed on the observer’s admittance”;
(b)
(b) for paragraph (5) substitute—
“
4A Where an oral hearing, or part of it, is to be held in private under rule 15, in addition to any witness who has been called under these Rules, and any observer whose attendance has been approved under paragraph (4), the panel chair or duty member may—
(a) admit any other person to the oral hearing as an observer, and
(b) impose conditions on that person’s admittance.
4B Any person may request admittance to an oral hearing as an observer under paragraph (4A)(a) by making a written application to the Board, but such an application may not be made later than 3 weeks before the date allocated for the oral hearing under rule 22.
4C On receipt of an application under paragraph (4B) the Board must inform the parties that the application has been made, and must provide an opportunity for the parties to make representations to the Board on the application.
5 Before admitting any person to attend an oral hearing as an observer at a prison or other premises where the panel chair or duty member has no authority to agree the admittance of that person, the panel chair or duty member must obtain the agreement of the prison governor, prison director or other person who appears to have the authority to agree to such admittance.
(10) In rule 15 (location and privacy of oral hearings)—
(a)
(a) for the heading substitute “Public and private hearings and location”;
(b)
(b) for paragraph (3) substitute—
“
3 An oral hearing (including a directions hearing or case management conference) must be held in private unless the Board chair considers, on their own initiative or on an application to the Board, that it is in the interests of justice for the oral hearing to be held in public.
3A Any application for an oral hearing to be held in public under paragraph (3) may not be made later than 12 weeks before the date allocated for the oral hearing.
3B If an oral hearing is held in public, the panel chair or duty member may give a direction that part of the oral hearing is to be held in private.
”;
(c)
(c) omit paragraph (4);
(d)
(d) in paragraph (5), omit “or under paragraph (4)”.
(11) In rule 17 (withholding information or reports)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (7)—
(i) for “paragraphs 10 and 11” substitute “paragraph 11”;
(ii) for the words from “if the representative is” to the end, substitute—
“
provided that—
(a)
(a) the representative is—
(i) a barrister or solicitor;
(ii) a registered medical practitioner; or
(iii) a person whom the panel chair or duty member appointed under paragraph (4) directs is suitable by virtue of their experience or professional qualifications; and
(b)
(b) the representative has first given an undertaking to the Board that they will not disclose the material to the prisoner or to any other person, other than other representatives also responsible for that prisoner’s case.
”;
(b)
(b) in paragraph (8), after the words “The panel chair or duty member” where they first appear, insert “making the determination in regards to the non-disclosure application, or the panel chair or duty member at a later date,”;
(c)
(c) omit paragraph (10);
(d)
(d) after paragraph (14) insert—
“
14A In determining an appeal under paragraph (11) or (13), the Board chair must consider the application and may make directions as necessary to enable determination of the application, including a direction under paragraph (8).
14B The Board chair may determine an appeal by—
(a) upholding the decision made by the panel chair or duty member under paragraph (5); or
(b) substituting their own decision, which may contain any direction that the panel chair or duty member could have made under paragraph (5).
14C When the Board chair has made a decision under paragraph (14B) the Secretary of State, or the Board (where an authorised third party made the application to appeal under paragraph (11)), must, as soon as practicable, notify the prisoner and the prisoner’s representative (if applicable) that a decision has been made and its outcome.
14D The panel chair or duty member may consent to the disclosure of any material withheld under this rule at a later date provided that the direction is subject to a separate right of appeal under paragraph (11).
”;
(e)
(e) in paragraph (15)—
(i) at the end of sub-paragraph (a) omit “or”;
(ii) at the end of sub-paragraph (b) insert “or”;
(iii) after sub-paragraph (b) insert—
“
(c)
(c) a panel chair or duty member consenting to disclosure under paragraph (14D),
”;
(iv) after “disclosed to the prisoner” insert “or the prisoner’s representative”;
(v) omit “within 7 days of that decision”;
(f)
(f) for paragraph (16) substitute—
“
16 If the Secretary of State does not withdraw any material in accordance with paragraph (15), they must serve on the prisoner or the prisoner’s representative or both (as directed by the Board chair)—
(a) the decision, subject to any redactions the Board considers necessary so as not to undermine the decision;
(b) any material directed to be disclosed, subject to receipt of an undertaking if so directed.
(12) In rule 19 (consideration on the papers), for paragraph (8) substitute—
“
8 The panel’s decision or advice must include the reasons for that decision or advice.
(13) In rule 20 (procedure after a provisional decision on the papers)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (2), for “the provision of the written record” substitute “receipt of the decision or advice”;
(b)
(b) omit paragraph (4);
(c)
(c) in paragraph (7), for the words from “be provided to the parties” to the end substitute—
“
—
(a)
(a) be provided to the parties by the Board within 14 days of the application being served by the prisoner under paragraph (2); and
(b)
(b) include the reasons for that decision.
(14) In rule 21 (decision on the papers after a direction for an oral hearing)—
(a)
(a) in paragraph (1)—
(i) omit “further evidence is received by the Board after”;
(ii) for “can” substitute “may”;
(iii) after “is no longer necessary” insert—
“
—
(a)
(a) in the interests of justice;
(b)
(b) to effectively manage the case; or
(c)
(c) for such other reason as the panel chair or duty member considers appropriate, including where further evidence is received by the Board.
”;
(b)
(b) for paragraph (2) substitute “The Board must notify the parties where it is considering making a direction in accordance with paragraph (1) and its reasons for doing so as soon as practicable.”;
(c)
(c) in paragraph (3)—
(i) omit “of the receipt of further evidence”; and
(ii) before paragraph (a) insert—
“
(za)
(za) the reasons provided by the Board for the proposed direction;
”;
(iii) in paragraph (a), for the second “the” substitute “any”;
(d)
(d) in paragraph (4), after “consider the” insert “case, including any”;
(e)
(e)...
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