658.Section 145 applies the same early release arrangements to all long-term prisoners sentenced under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 whose release at the half-way point of sentence remains a matter for Parole Board discretion. It amends section 35(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (power to release long-term prisoners) so that after a long-term prisoner has served half his or her sentence a recommendation by the Parole Board to release him or her is binding on the Secretary of State.
659.The section also inserts a new section 37(5A) into the Criminal Justice Act 1991, which provides that, where a prisoner is released at the discretion of the Parole Board under section 35(1), the Secretary of State may only set, vary or cancel licence conditions in accordance with the Board’s recommendations.