Question
Does the Secretary of State accept that the recall figures would be even higher if it were not for the fact that, as reported in The Daily Telegraph today, it is taking the police an average of 39 days to arrest anyone who breaches his tagging conditions? Will he consider writing to us with his estimate of how many people who are released early will be recalled—during the next three months, for example?
Answer
The right hon. Gentleman will know that, through the National Police Chiefs’ Council, we work closely with police forces to make sure that we share the right information, and have a two-way flow of information on who is leaving and what is happening when the police seek to enforce a recall. The statistics are available in the quarterly release, and they will be published in the usual cycle, when the data comes in.
Verdict: RED (18/100) DEFERRED
The reply only partly answers the question. It describes the existing information-sharing arrangement with police on recall enforcement, but it does not say whether the Secretary of State accepts that recall figures would be higher without arrest delays, and it does not engage with the 39-day delay itself. The request for a forecast of future recalls is deferred to the next quarterly statistical release, with no estimate and no commitment to write to the Member. Both parts of the question are answered in hedged terms, so the Member would likely need to ask again for specific figures and a clear position.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does the Secretary of State accept that recall figures would be higher were it not for the time police take to arrest individuals who breach their tagging conditions (reported as an average of 39 days)? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply describes the existing NPCC information-sharing arrangement with police on recall enforcement, which is related, but it never says whether the Secretary of State accepts that recall figures would be higher without police arrest delays and does not engage with the 39-day figure or the delay itself. |
| Will the Secretary of State consider writing to the member with his estimate of how many people released early will be recalled, including over the next three months? | Deferred | Hedged | The reply points to the quarterly statistical release and says data will be published in the usual cycle, which defers the matter to future publication. It gives no estimate of future recalls and no commitment to write to the Member, so the requested forecast is not provided. |