Question
T4. Two months ago, I wrote to the Secretary of State asking him to confirm how many prisoners will be released under the Government’s early release scheme untagged because they cited homelessness or mental health issues. I got a reply from his Minister saying that she could not answer the question because the scheme did not start till 1 October, but her letter was dated 4 November—five weeks later. Will Secretary of State tell me today how many have been released early untagged for those reasons?
Answer
The hon. Lady will have heard me say two things in this session: first, that there is for the first time a presumption on tagging and, secondly, that we will release full data so that Parliament can scrutinise it in the normal way. I suggest that she waits for that release.
Verdict: RED (12/100) DEFERRED
The question asked for a specific number of early releases that were not tagged as homelessness or mental health cases. The reply did not give that figure. It discussed the tagging policy and pointed to a full data release later, so the Member was asked to wait for it. The reply engages with the topic but gives no committed answer to the question asked, so the requester would likely need to ask again.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| How many prisoners have been released early under the Government's early release scheme untagged because they cited homelessness or mental health issues? | Deferred | Hedged | The question asks for a specific count of early releases untagged on homelessness or mental health grounds, which the reply does not give; it instead points to a forthcoming full data release for Parliament to scrutinise and tells the Member to wait for it, which is a deferral. The reply engages with the tagging policy and data, but never addresses the specific count or the two stated reasons. |