Caselaw Digest
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Brendon Oxendale, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for Justice

24 September 2024
[2024] EWHC 2407 (Admin)
High Court
A prisoner was recommended for transfer to a less secure prison by the Parole Board. The government rejected the recommendation because the prisoner hadn't shown enough improvement in behavior despite having done some rehabilitation work. A judge agreed with the government's decision, saying they gave good reasons for rejecting the recommendation.

Key Facts

  • •Brendon Oxendale, a Category C prisoner serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence for sexual offenses, had his Parole Board recommendation for transfer to open conditions rejected by the Secretary of State for Justice.
  • •The Parole Board recommended the transfer, but the Secretary of State rejected it based on insufficient progress in addressing risk and the lack of a wholly persuasive case for the transfer.
  • •Oxendale challenged the Secretary of State's decision through judicial review.
  • •The Secretary of State's decision was delayed due to a backlog of cases.

Legal Principles

The Secretary of State has the power to direct prison transfers (Prison Act 1952, s.12(2)) and make rules for prisoner classification and management (Prison Act 1952, s.47(1); Prison Rules 1999, r.7(1)).

Prison Act 1952, Criminal Justice Act 2003

While the Secretary of State is not bound by Parole Board recommendations regarding open conditions, sufficient reasons must justify rejection.

Case law

When disagreeing with Parole Board recommendations, the Secretary of State must accord weight to them, give clear reasons for departures on matters where the Parole Board has an advantage, and provide reasons for departures on evaluative judgments on conventional public law grounds.

R (Green) v Secretary of State for Justice (No. 2) [2023] EWHC 1211 (Admin)

Outcomes

The claim for judicial review was refused.

The Secretary of State's decision was deemed rationally justified. The court found sufficient reasons for rejecting the Parole Board's recommendation based on the claimant's insufficient progress in addressing risk factors and the absence of a wholly persuasive case for transfer to open conditions.

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