Dear Mr Tyes

Freedom of Information Request

Thank you for your e-mail dated 24 October 2009 in which you requested the following information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):

`Please could you tell me how many married prisoners were allowed compassionate leave in each of the last ten years? Please identify gender and category of prisoner and percentage of sentence remaining at time of compassionate leave being granted.'

Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

From our preliminary assessment, it is clear that we will not be able to answer your request without further clarification. Under section 1(3) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a public authority need not comply with a request unless any further information reasonably required to locate the information is supplied.

I am currently unclear as to the exact scope of the information in which you are interested. In order to help us ensure that we provide you with the right information, I would be grateful if you could clarify your request, particularly with regard to which policy you are referring to.  For example, is it in relation to:

(a) Temporary release from prison for a few hours or few days which may be granted to prisoners whilst they are serving their sentence in custody or

(b) Compassionate early release from a prison sentence which means that the offender is released early from custody to serve the rest of their sentence on licence in the community?

Upon receipt of the information for clarification, we will be in a position to continue with the processing of your request.

Should you need to contact me, it would be helpful if you quote our reference number.

Yours sincerely

Katharine Banaghan

Data Access & Compliance Unit