Sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection

What are IPP sentences?

Sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP sentences) were available for courts to impose from 2005 to 2012. They were designed to detain offenders who posed a significant risk of causing serious harm to the public through further serious offences in prison until they no longer posed such a risk.

IPP sentences have a minimum term, sometimes called a ‘tariff’, that must be served in custody before a prisoner can be considered for release by the Parole Board. Once the tariff has expired, the prisoner can only be released once the Parole Board is satisfied they no longer need to be confined for the safety of the public. Release is never automatic, and prisoners can be detained indefinitely if the Parole Board decides it is not safe to release them.

When released, a person serving an IPP sentence will be on licence, subject to conditions. The licence will be in force until it is terminated. People serving an IPP sentence are currently eligible to have termination of their licence considered by the Parole Board ten years after their first release.

Breaching the conditions of the licence may result in the person being recalled to prison. If recalled, a person must remain in prison until the Parole Board is satisfied that custody is no longer necessary for public protection.

Licence termination

Section 66 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which is not yet in force, will make significant changes to the licence termination process. It is being commenced in two phases:

• 1 November 2024 – a new automatic termination process: On 1 November 2024, a new process for automatic termination of an IPP licence will be introduced for cases where the Parole Board decides (or has previously decided) not to terminate a person’s licence after a three-year qualifying period has expired. In such cases, the licence will subsequently terminate automatically if the person avoids being recalled for a further two-year period.

• 1 February 2025 – licence termination reviews by the Parole Board: From 1 February 2025, anyone whose IPP licence has not already been reviewed by the Parole Board, and who is not yet eligible for automatic termination, will have their IPP licence referred to the Parole Board for a termination review three years after their first release.

The Parole Board has recommended that anyone serving an IPP sentence (or their family and friends) who would like advice on the new arrangements should call a temporary IPP Licence Termination Hotline, which is being run by the Howard League for Penal Reform from 7 October to 18 December 2024.

Abolition and numbers still in custody

IPP sentences were much criticised from their introduction. Particular concerns were that the sentences were too broad and caught up less serious offenders, and that it was difficult for IPP prisoners (particularly those with short minimum terms) to access the interventions they needed to demonstrate they were no longer a risk and so could be released.

IPP sentences were abolished for offenders convicted on or after 3 December 2012, with the government stating the system was “not defensible”. However, the change was not made retrospective. It didn’t apply to existing prisoners who were already serving those sentences at the time.

As of 31 March 2024, there were 1,180 unreleased IPP prisoners in custody in England and Wales. In addition to these unreleased IPP prisoners, there were 1,616 recalled IPP prisoners in custody on 31 March 2024, bringing the total number of IPP prisoners to 2,796. As of March 2024, all but 13 unreleased IPP prisoners had passed their tariff date.

The Justice Committee’s report

Following abolition of the IPP sentence, pressure for further change has continued. Most significantly, in 2022 the Justice Committee published a report which identified and discussed the ongoing problems with IPP sentences.

The committee’s primary recommendation was that the government should legislate to enable a resentencing exercise in relation to IPP sentenced individuals. The committee also called on the government to publish a new IPP action plan and to reduce the qualifying period for terminating a licence from ten years to five.

The Conservative government’s response

The Conservative government accepted the Justice Committee’s recommendation for a new IPP action plan, and published an updated version (PDF) in April 2023.

It initially rejected the committee’s recommendation for a reduction of the qualifying period to terminate an IPP licence. However, in December 2023, the government announced that it would legislate to reduce the qualifying period from ten years to three. This change is set out in section 66 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024. As set out above, section 66 is being phased in from 1 November 2024.

The government rejected the committee’s primary recommendation on resentencing, with the then Justice Secretary Dominic Raab arguing resentencing would give rise to an unacceptable risk to public protection.

The Justice Committee expressed regret that the government had rejected its recommendation on resentencing. The then chair of the committee, Sir Bob Neill, said the response was “a missed opportunity to right a wrong”.

The Labour government’s position

In May 2024, the then Shadow Minister for Victims and Sentencing, Kevin Brennan, said in government Labour would “work at pace to make progress” for those remaining on IPP sentences. Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede, then Labour’s Justice and Home Affairs spokesperson in the House of Lords, had previously indicated that Labour did not support the resentencing of IPP prisoners as had been recommended by the Justice Committee.

Following the election, in September 2024 the Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood announced a phased commencement of the IPP measures of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024. She said she wanted to make “progress towards a safe and sustainable release” for IPP prisoners but “not in a way that impacts public protection”.

On 21 October 2024, the government announced an independent review of sentencing, to be led by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke. However, the review’s terms of reference state that it will not cover IPP sentences as the government considers this issue (along with others, such as remand and the youth sentencing framework) is “best-placed to be progressed outside of the review”.

Renewed calls for government action

Since the election, there have been renewed calls for the government to undertake a resentencing exercise.

In July 2024, a group of campaigners and academics sent the government a joint letter calling for urgent IPP reform (PDF), including a call for the government to set up an expert committee to advise on the practicalities of a resentencing exercise.  

In September 2024, Lord Woodley (Labour) introduced a private member’s bill to the House of Lords. The Imprisonment for Public Protection (Re-sentencing) Bill [HL] would require the Lord Chancellor to make arrangements for a resentencing exercise. Lord Woodley told the Independent that ministers were not yet “on the same page” regarding his proposals for a resentencing exercise, but that he believed there was still “everything to play for”.

The Independent also reported that Andy Slaughter, the newly elected chair of the Justice Committee, has indicated “the new committee may look at readopting [the resentencing] recommendation in the coming months”.