Expedited Parole Board Review - s47/49 patients

Law and practice Other
1

Afternoon,

I have a recollection of there being an expedited process for the Parole Board reviewing cases for s47/49 patient’s whose discharge pathway is via hospital.

Is anyone able to point me in the right direction of information relating to this? Google and other websites haven’t been very helpful so far.

2

I think it’s gone from being a pilot to being standard practice. I’ve taken this from Parole Board Guidance - Listing Prioritisation Framework for Oral Hearings

Prisoners in a mental health setting

8.4 The Board will automatically prioritise, irrespective of the date the review
was due or review type, the following cases:

  • Any prisoner residing within a secure hospital setting or mental health
    unit
  • Any prisoner where it is their first review by the Parole Board after
    discharge by a Mental Health Tribunal and they have been returned to
    prison

8.5 The case will be listed once it is marked ready to list and will take account
of the availability of the required witnesses.

This is also found at 6.4 & 6.5 of the Paper Hearing Guidance

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3

There is no formal expedited or fast-track process for S47/49 patients being considered for discharge through the Parole Board for England and Wales.
In practice, cases are progressed the usual route:
The RC identifies clinical readiness for discharge
a A request is made to the Public Protection Section of the MOJ
b PCS decides whether to refer the case to the Parole Board
c The Parole Board then lists the case giving priority where the patient is discharge- ready
Where to access information:
a MOJ Guidance on Retricted Patients (MHA 1983)
b Parole Board Rules 2019
c Parole Board Listing Priority Framework
d Mental Health Act Code of Practice ( restricted patients sections)
e Justice Committe reports on parole delays and hospital transfers.

RAJEN JUSSUN
RMN. RNLD. LLB

4

Yes, there is an accelerated process which was piloted from 2019 and fully adpoted in June 2024. The Parole Board is currently updating guidance but some of the current process is here. Essentially, there are specialist parole board members that deal with these cases and they are prioritised.

Parole Board, ‘Guidance on Restricted Patients and the Mental Health Act’ (v1.0, October 2020)

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