A victim can be kept informed of a prisoner’s progress by signing up to the victim contact service. This is a service that the National Probation Service provide and a victim will be offered the option to sign up when the crime took place, although a victim can sign up at any time.

There is only limited information that can be disclosed but this includes if the prisoner is due a parole review. A victim would not necessarily be told which prison the prisoner is held in, unless they opt to ask to attend a parole hearing in person.

Once a victim is aware that a parole review is taking place, they can decide whether to submit a Victim Personal Statement (VPS). This statement will go into the evidence presented to the Parole Board and the victim will have the option to attend the oral hearing in person, if there is to be one, to read out their statement. Not all cases are heard at oral hearing and many are concluded on the papers where a VPS will be considered and seen by the Parole Board panel.

The victim personal statement is about the impact the crime had on the victim at the time and continues to have in the present day. A victim can ask for certain conditions to be set, should the offender be released, for example to include an exclusion zone of where the victim lives. A statement should not include anything that relates to risk, but if a victim does have information that relates to how risky a prisoner is, then that information should be passed on to the probation service and they will consider including it in their report.

The VPS does not directly link to the decision. This is because the Parole Board’s focus is risk assessment which is not the focus of the VPS. If risk information is contained in the VPS it would have been dealt with as a separate matter. The VPS does allow the panel to direct questions to the prisoner regarding impact of their behaviour, insight into their behaviour, remorse, empathy and assessing licence conditions. It gives the panel insight into the original offence and the impact of those affected. It also helps the panel decide appropriate licence conditions, if the prisoner is to be released.

Writing a victim personal statement can be a traumatic experience and victims will be helped through this by a Victim Liaison Officer. The Parole Board has produced a booklet to assist victims in understanding how parole works, which is available here.

For information on Indeterminate Sentence Prisoners, use this link.

Indeterminate sentences carry a minimum term, or tariff, for the purposes of punishment and to reflect the gravity of the offence. Once an indeterminate sentence prisoner’s minimum term has been served, he/she is eligible to be considered for release by the Parole Board. The law states that the offender is no longer held in prison as a punishment and can only remain in prison if they pose a risk to the public. It requires a court, in this case the Parole Board, to decide that issue.

Whilst the Board is committed to ensuring that victims are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve, the Board is governed by statute. Parliament has, since 1997, determined that the sole task of the Board is to consider the risk posed by the prisoner at the time of his or her parole hearing. Deciding whether to release a prisoner is a matter of judgement, based on all the evidence presented to the panel.

The Parole Board makes these decisions by assessing the risk the prisoner presents to the public. It may only direct the release of a life sentence prisoner if it is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for him/her to be detained in order to protect the public from serious harm. If it is so satisfied, it is required to release the prisoner. The Parole Board is not legally permitted to consider whether the prisoner has been punished enough, instead it must focus solely on how dangerous the prisoner is.

When making its decision the Parole Board will take into account the nature of the index offence, the prisoner’s offending history, the prisoner’s progress in prison, any statement made on behalf of the victim(s), psychologist’s reports, probation officer’s reports, prisons officer’s reports and any statistical risk assessments that have been completed. There must also be a comprehensive resettlement plan in place.

Any indeterminate sentence prisoner released will be managed in the community by the probation service under strict licence conditions. Should a prisoner breach one of these licence conditions they can be recalled to prison.

Any indeterminate sentence prisoner not released must, under current legislation, have their continued detention reviewed periodically, but at least every two years. The date of parole reviews is set by the Secretary of State for Justice.

Come and see our new ‘Register a Vehicle electronically’ (RaVe) service at the Motorcycle Trade Expo from Sunday 14 to Tuesday 16 January 2018.

The feedback we had at last year’s event was really positive, so we’re keen to see as many traders as possible at our stand this year.

This will be a great opportunity for you to see our new first registration service, RaVe, and discover how it will benefit your dealership.

RaVe

You’ll be familiar with our current vehicle registration schemes, either using our paper V55 forms or web based Automated First Registration and Licensing (AFRL) system.

Our new RaVe service, currently in development, will eventually replace our AFRL web service. It has a totally new look and feel to make it easier for you to use. We’re continuing to work with the motor trade to develop the service.

At the event

Allison Avo and I will be on hand to showcase this service and how:

• you’ll save time and money, by reducing administration in your business
• to make the transition
• simple it is to use

We’ll also answer any questions you may have on vehicle registration and licensing and will demonstrate our digital services.

We want the service to be as user friendly as possible, so your feedback will be really helpful.

For information about the event go to Motorcycle Trade Expo.

We hope to see you there, we’re on stand KS10 within the Knowledge Shop.

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His renewed term will commence from 1 April 2018 for a 3 year period up to 31 March 2021.

Mark Boyle became Non-Executive Chair of The Pensions Regulator in April 2014. To date, his career has spanned the banking, FTSE corporate and central government sectors.

From 2011 until March 2016, he was also the independent Non-Executive Chair of HM Land Registry. Previous to this he was Director and Chief Operating Officer at the Shareholder Executive, the specialist team based in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (formerly the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) that looked after a portfolio of government-owned businesses ranging from the Royal Mail to Ordnance Survey.

Before this he spent 12 years in senior commercial and corporate development roles with 2 major FTSE companies, Compass Group and Rentokil Initial. The first 15 years of his career were spent in banking with Lloyds Bank International and Kleinwort Benson.

The Pensions Regulator is the regulator of work-based pension schemes in the UK. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Work and Pensions.

At Starcross the Environment Agency will install 2 new floodgates at Church Road and Generals Lane slipway. They will also raise the car park levels at the Fishing and Cruising Club.

In Cockwood the harbour wall will be improved with a raised level along Dawlish Road in line with predicted sea level rises. Work is expected to take around 6 months and be finished by summer.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said:

The storms hitting our coast in the past week demonstrate the importance of tidal defences. We are making a number of improvements to increase the level of flood protection in this area. Across England we are investing £2.6 billion in over 1,500 flood and coastal schemes to help protect homes and businesses at risk. This important scheme has been designed to reduce the risk of tidal flooding to more than 660 residential and commercial properties.

From 8 January the road around Cockwood harbour, including Church Road and Dawlish Warren road, will be closed to traffic to allow work to be carried out and to ensure public safety. Pedestrians will continue to have access.

Works and road closures have been timed to avoid school holidays and the summer season but we apologise for any inconvenience the closures cause.

Construction of the Starcross and Cockwood tidal defence scheme begins just a few weeks after the £12m Dawlish Warren beach management scheme was opened by Michael Gove. The Dawlish Warren scheme provides increased flood protection to around 2,800 properties in the Exe estuary. Once complete, the Starcross and Cockwood tidal defence scheme is expected to further reduce flood risk for over 660 properties.

Notes to editors

The Environment Agency builds, maintains and improves sea defences to reduce the risk of coastal flooding. About 1.8 million homes are at risk of coastal flooding and erosion in England.

Between 2015 and 2021 the Environment Agency is investing in over 1,500 flood and coastal schemes to help protect homes and businesses at risk.

From 2015 to 2021, the Environment Agency is investing £2.5 billion in flood and coastal erosion risk management projects.