Catalogue description Records of the Parole Board

The Parole Board was established under the Criminal Justice Act 1967 and began to operate in April 1968. Its function was to advise the Home Secretary, who appointed its members, on the early release of prisoners under licence, the conditions of the licences and their cancellation because of misconduct. Its area of jurisdiction is England and Wales; there is a separate board for Scotland.

The Board's work was assisted by a system of local review committees for all prisons, most of whose members were appointed by the Home Secretary. In 1968 a Parole Unit was established within the Home Office to act as a channel between the local review committees in prisons and the Parole Board.

The Parole Board became an independent Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. As an independent body the Parole Board works with its criminal justice partners to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can be safely released into the community and its aims are to: make risk assessments which are rigorous, fair and timely with the primary aim of protecting the public and which contribute to the rehabilitation of prisoners where appropriate; demonstrate effective and accountable corporate governance by maintaining strong internal control, setting clear objectives and managing corporate risk and to deliver best value by optimum use of resources; promote the independence of and public confidence in the work of the Board, while effectively managing change.

In 2007 sponsorship of the Parole Board moved from the Home Office to the newly created Ministry of Justice. The Parole Board is an Arms Length Body sponsored by the Corporate Performance Group of the Ministry of Justice.