Howard League IPP hotline nominated for award

In November of last year, major changes were made to the way IPP licences can be terminated. IPP sentences are already complex and often hard to navigate, so the prospect of further changes caused a lot of concern for people in prison and their families, as well as professionals.

Along with law firm Peters & Peters, the Howard League set up a hotline providing expert legal advice to people on IPP and DPP sentences, their families and friends, and professionals working with them, to help them understand how the changes would apply.

The initiative has now been nominated for Pro Bono Initiative of the Year at the Lawyers Awards 2025.

Progress in addressing the massive injustice of IPP sentences can often feel slow and frustrating, particularly for those stuck in prisons and on licence. These sentences have disrupted thousands of lives and caused untold psychological distress, with the shadow of recall hanging over those who have been released.

We’re thrilled that we were able to offer help and guidance to those navigating IPP sentences, and grateful that the injustice of the sentence is being further highlighted by the Lawyer Awards this year.

The IPP hotline ran from October to December 2024, and advised over 150 callers, with volunteers from Peters & Peters giving 260 hours of time to the project. A caller, describing his experience with the initiative, said: “Since the termination of the IPP sentence I feel so at ease and it feels like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

Others speaking to volunteers expressed appreciation not only for the information provided, but also valued having people listen to their experiences on licence and the difficulties of being on an IPP sentence.

IPP charity UNGRIPP wrote that the helpline was a “lifeline” for their members who accessed it

Speaking of the hotline, the Parole Board commented on our “exceptional commitment to justice and fairness”; and IPP charity UNGRIPP wrote that the helpline was a “lifeline” for their members who accessed it.

Some context

The IPP sentence was abolished 12 years ago after being ruled unlawful, but not before more than 8,700 such sentences were handed down. Because the abolition was not applied retrospectively, almost 3,000 people on IPP sentences are in prison and thousands more have remained in limbo on licence in the community.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has long argued IPP sentences are wrong in principle and unworkable in practice. Even in 2007, Howard League’s Chief Executive warned that: “Because of the length of the sentence and the system’s inability to process people, a bureaucratic nightmare is developing – one which will not simply haunt the current government, but also its successors”.

Lord Blunkett, responsible for conceiving the sentence, since called it his “biggest regret” and the Justice Select Committee Inquiry in 2022 concluded IPPs were “irredeemably flawed”.

The changes introduced by the Victims and Prisoners Act went some way to addressing concerns raised by Lord Blunkett and the Justice Select Committee, and built on recommendations made by a coalition of criminal justice, human rights, and mental health organisations calling for the reform of the IPP sentence, of which the Howard League was a part. In particular, the Act brought in significant amendments to licences for IPPs in the community.

Due to the complexity of these changes, we published a practical guide to help people serving IPP or DPP sentences, to understand how the changes in the Act would affect them, as well as providing tips on how to get a licence terminated by the Parole Board. This guide, which was produced in partnership with the Prison Reform Trust, the Prisoners’ Advice Service, and lawyer Dr Laura Janes, can be downloaded from our website.

But we felt this wasn’t enough. We were concerned that people on licences may not learn of the changes, nor understand how the changes applied to them individually.  We approached Peters & Peters to ask for their support, training their solicitors to deliver advice to those serving IPP and DPP sentences in custody and in the community, and their families, friends and professionals, on the relevance of the changes to them personally.

Now that the hotline has concluded, we’re thrilled that people have benefitted from the service, but we know that there are many people on IPP sentences, families, and professionals still out there who are still suffering. In particular, the changes in the Victims and Prisoners Act did not address the ongoing plight of those people in prison on IPP sentences who have never been released or in custody after being recalled. We want to assure you that the IPP sentence is a priority for everyone at the Howard League, and that, alongside campaigners like UNGRIPP, we will continue to do whatever we can to get them the justice they deserve.

Claire Salama is a Managing Solicitor at the Howard League

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