Branch Library research for the Secretary of State’s Office

What was done?

The Sentencing Policy and Penalties Unit (SPPU) received a Parliamentary Question (PQ) from a Member of Parliament (MP) regarding the release of prisoners who had been handed down determinate sentences for terrorist offences. The officials in SPPU drafted a response, to which the Secretary of State made an addition, but as this relied on his recollection of a Bill that had gone through Parliament some eight years previously, he requested that his addition be checked for accuracy.

As a result, the Branch Library received an enquiry from SPPU asking if we could examine the Hansard debates for any amendments proposed during the passage of the Terrorism Bill 2000 through Parliament which would have altered the way that the sentencing for terrorist offences works, paying particular attention to any amendments that the Opposition proposed.

After negotiating a deadline with SPPU to fall within the Parliamentary deadline, the Branch Librarians started to work through the Terrorism Bill 2000 Bill Book, which is held by the Home Office Library, who kindly gave us permission to examine it. This involved a lot of close reading, as we had to examine all the debates, notes on clauses and notes on amendments for any mention of the sentencing regime for prisoners convicted of terrorism-related offences before then using our judgment as to whether they were relevant to the enquiry.

We found several amendments and discussions from both Houses relating to remission for Northern Ireland prisoners that we felt the policy officials should consider when (re)drafting the Secretary of State’s response; we sent copies of those items, along with an explanatory memo to SPPU.

What changed as a result?

The answer to the PQ was modified. The wording in the response actually given by the Secretary of State to Parliament was much tighter and more specific than that initially suggested, in part because of what the Branch Librarians uncovered during their close reading of the Terrorism Bill 2000.

What are the benefits as a result?

The answer that the Secretary of State gave to Parliament was accurate and precise, which is absolutely essential if the reputation of the Ministry of Justice is to be maintained and the House is not to be misled. In addition, the Branch Library’s reputation for providing information to customers to an exacting standard, within the deadlines set, was bolstered.