Sentencing Act 2026: What is changing and what does it mean for defendants?

The Sentencing Act 2026 has now received Royal Assent (22 January 2026) and introduces some of the most significant changes to sentencing and release arrangements in England and Wales for many years.  

The reforms are designed to ease the chronic strain on the prison estate, improve public confidence, and reduce reoffending by changing not just how long people spend in custody, but how they progress through their sentence. For anyone facing the criminal courts, or supporting someone who is, clarity matters. This article explains the key themes, what the Act now means in practice, and how specific sentences may look. 

What is the Sentencing Act 2026? 

In short it is a change in the law governing sentencing, release, bail and the management of offenders after sentence. It implements many of the recommendations of the Independent Sentencing Review released in May 2025. 

The Act aims to ensure that the time a person spends in custody more clearly reflects the seriousness of their offending, but also that community based supervision is used more effectively to reduce reoffending and protect the public. 

The key changes 

A new progression model for Standard Determinate Sentences (SDS) 

A Standard Determinate Sentence (SDS) is a fixed-length custodial sentence. This is where the court sentences the defendant to a set number of months and/or years and the defendant serves part in custody and part on licence in the community. 

The most substantial change is the introduction of a progression model for SDS prisoners. This directly affects when someone becomes eligible for release and how they move through custody and supervision. 

How release eligibility will change 

Under the Act: 

• Those who would previously have been released at 40% or 50% of their sentence will now be eligible for release at one third.  
• Those who would previously have been released at the two thirds point (typically for serious violent or sexual offences) will now become eligible at one half.

These changes do not apply to extended or life sentences. People managed under MAPPA will remain under intensive supervision for their entire community portion.  

A structured three stage sentencestage sentence 

The progression model creates a much more structured sentence: 

1. First third: Custody 
2. Second third: Intensive supervision in the community with tighter restrictions and monitoring 
3. Final third: Licence conditions, with reduced day-to-dayto supervision except for day supervision except for high cases 

Prison adjudication powers have also been strengthened. Misconduct in custody can now lead to more added days, with the Act doubling the maximum sanction per incident and allowing consecutive penalties.  

This is important because, while eligibility begins earlier, release is not unconditional and serious misconduct can still delay release. 

How time served will look under the Act 

Example 1: Four year Standard Determinate Sentence year Standard Determinate Sentence 

• Previously the automatic release point was 50% (or 40% under the emergency measures). So, a prisoner would serve 2 years in prison before being automatically released on license.  
• Once the provisions are commenced the minimum release eligibility will be at one third, meaning 1 year 4 months in custody. This would be followed by a period under intensive supervision in the community, then the remainder on licence conditions. Misconduct in custody could delay release.

Example 2: Eight year SDS for a serious violent or sexual offence year SDS for a serious violent or sexual offence 

• Previously the prisoner would have been released at the two thirds stage (5 years 4 months). 
• Following commencement, the prisoner would be eligible for release at the halfway point, so 4 years in this example. The remaining time would be spent under intensive supervision followed by a license period.  

Will the Act apply retrospectively? 

This was a frequently asked question when the Act was still progressing through parliament. Now the Act has passed, the position is clearer. 

At present, there is no indication that the progression model or other release changes will apply retrospectively to those already serving sentences. There is nothing in the Act or the explanatory notes that creates retrospective effect. The standard position with all legislation it that application is prospectively only, unless expressly stated otherwise.  

This means: 

• Those sentenced after the relevant commencement date will fall under the progression model. 
• Those already serving a sentence will remain on their existing release arrangements, unless future regulations state otherwise. 

This is one of the few areas where some uncertainty remains, because commencement regulations have not yet been published, and the last Sentencing Act (in 2025) did apply retrospectively.  

How will the Sentencing Act 2026 change suspended sentences?  

The Act makes major changes to suspended sentences, with the clear intention of reducing short custodial terms. 

A presumption to suspend 

Courts will now be expected to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less. The presumption will not apply if the defendant presents a significant risk of harm or has breached previous court orders 

Longer suspension periods 

The maximum length of sentence that can be suspended increases from two years to three, giving courts wider scope to use community based supervision instead of immediate custody.based supervision instead of immediate custody. 

Deferred sentencing 

Courts may defer sentence for up to 12 months, allowing defendants to demonstrate compliance, attend treatment, maintain employment or address drug and alcohol issues before sentence is finally imposed. 

Practical effect 

The impact is obvious: more defendants will avoid immediate custody, more serious offences will fall into the “suspendable” category, and the volume of short prison sentences is likely to fall. Earlier guilty pleas may also increase. This may serve to decrease pressure on the overflowing and backed-up criminal justice system by reducing the number of cases going to trial.  

Case example 

A defendant charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs pleads guilty at the earliest opportunity. The judge considers the offence to be ‘supplying directly to users’ and following the Sentencing Guidelines, adopts a starting point of 4.5 years imprisonment. Under the old framework, even with a 33% reduction for guilty plea taking the sentence to 3 years, custody was inevitable. Under the Sentencing Act 2026 the defendant would be eligible for a suspended sentence and so has a good chance of avoiding prison.  

Other key reforms 

Stronger community orders 

Community orders will become more demanding. The Act allows for: 

• Tighter curfews and wider exclusion zones 
• Restrictions such as bans from pubs, concerts or sports venues 
• More visible unpaid work, such as graffiti removal and street cleaning 
• The development of “income reduction orders”, allowing courts to impose financial penalties proportionate to income  

This is intended to increase public confidence in community sentencing. 

Changes to bail 

The Act includes new provisions on bail and remand, aiming to reduce unnecessary pretrial custody.   

The major change relates to the ‘no real prospect’ test. This test means that a prisoner awaiting trial who has ‘no real prospect’ of a custodial sentence should not be remanded into custody. The new legislation widens the application of the test to prisoners who have been convicted and are awaiting sentence and have ‘no real prospect’ of a custodial sentence.  

The Act also expands the use of electronic monitoring as a condition of bail, allowing courts to manage risk more confidently without resorting to remand. These changes sit alongside the presumption to suspend most short custodial sentences and are intended to ensure custody is used only where it is genuinely necessary for public protection. 

Changes to recall 

The Act also reforms recall procedures to reflect the new progression model. As more of the sentence will now be served in the community, the recall system has had to be strengthened and modernised. The focus is shifting firmly away from automatic recall for technical breaches and toward recall where there is an increased risk of harm or further offending. Licence conditions are being expanded, with greater use of tagging, exclusion zones and tailored risk management measures. The intention is to create a more consistent, risk based framework so that recall is used where it is genuinely necessary for public protection, while avoiding the churn of people being returned to custody for minor compliance issues. Detailed operational guidance will follow, but the direction of travel is clear: recall will become a more structured, proportionate and defensible decision within the sentencing framework.management measures. The intention is to create a more consistent, risk-based-framework so that recall is used where it is genuinely necessary for public protection, while avoiding the churn of people being returned to custody for minor compliance issues. Detailed operational guidance will follow, but the direction of travel is clear: recall will become a more structured, proportionate and defensible decision within the sentencing framework. 

Foreign national offenders 

The Act expands powers to remove foreign national offenders, improves information sharing with immigration authorities, and enables removal to take precedence over community based supervision where appropriate. sharing with immigration authorities, and enables removal to take precedence over communitybased supervision where appropriate.  

When will the Sentencing Act 2026 provisions come into force? 

The Act completed all stages in Parliament, receiving Royal Assent on 22 January 2026 and is now law.  

Offenders can receive suspended sentences of up to three years after 22nd March 2026. The same date applies to the presumption to suspend sentences 12 months or below.  

Commencement dates for the other key reforms, including the progression model, have not yet been announced but are expected later in 2026.  

Our view 

The Ministry of Justice has presented the Act as a way to make time in custody more meaningful, reduce confusion about release, and create a sentencing framework that better protects the public. Taken together, the reforms move sentencing toward earlier release with stronger, longer community supervision, while aiming to reserve custody for the most serious offending or where community supervision has failed. 

If properly resourced, the Act has the potential to reduce the damaging cycle of short custodial sentences, improve rehabilitation outcomes and create greater consistency. It could also help ease the current backlog in the criminal justice system. 

If under resourced, the risks are obvious: increased recalls, inconsistent application, and an expansion of those under supervision without a corresponding improvement in outcomes.resourced, the risks are obvious: increased recalls, inconsistent application, and an expansion of those under supervision without a corresponding improvement in outcomes. 

If you, or someone you care about, is under investigation or facing sentence, we can provide practical advice on how the Sentencing Act may affect the outcome and what steps can be taken now to strengthen mitigation to reduce the possibility of receiving a prison sentence. Early legal advice is more important than ever under this new structure, and we are here to guide you through every stage.