What is the New UK Sentencing Bill 2024-25?

Summary

1. The UK Sentencing Bill 2024-25 reforms sentencing in England and Wales to address prison overcrowding, strengthen complainant protection, and promote more effective community-based rehabilitation.
2. Courts will now be expected to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less unless exceptional circumstances apply, with the power to suspend sentences of up to three years.
3. Expanded Community Order requirements include curfews, exclusion zones, bans on certain activities, and enhanced electronic monitoring, alongside opportunities for early termination for good compliance.
4. A new “Progression Model” links prisoner release to behaviour and supervision milestones, while serious and violent offenders remain subject to whole life or extended determinate sentences.
5. Supporters see the Bill as key to easing prison pressure and focusing on rehabilitation; critics warn that without greater investment in probation and monitoring systems, public protection and enforcement could be compromised.

The Sentencing Bill 2024-25 signals a major overhaul of sentencing frameworks in England and Wales. It arrives at a time when prison capacity is under acute pressure and the effectiveness of short custodial sentences is being questioned.

What is the Background and Policy Rationale Behind the new Sentencing Bill 2024-25?

The Bill stems directly from the Independent Sentencing Review (ISR), published in May 2025. The review was commissioned amid warnings that the prison population in England and Wales could reach up to 93,500 by September 2026.

The Government’s stated objectives in tabling the Sentencing Bill 2024-25 include reducing reliance on short custodial sentences, shifting towards effective community-based measures and improving protection for complainants and the public.

What are the Key Provisions of the Sentencing Bill 2024-25?

Presumption to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less
The Bill introduces a presumption that custodial sentences of 12 months or less should be suspended, unless exceptional circumstances apply. Judges retain discretion to impose immediate custody where risk or other factors dictate. The presumption does not apply if the offender is already in custody, has received two or more sentences totalling more than 12 months, or has breached a court order. Nor does it apply if the suspended sentence order would put a particular person at significant risk of physical or psychological harm.

Extension of suspended sentences up to three years
Currently, the power to suspend custodial sentences is limited to two years. The Bill extends this so that sentences of up to three years may be suspended, with supervision periods accordingly adjusted.

New and expanded community order requirements
Courts gain new tools when imposing a Community Order or a Suspended Sentence Order. Requirements may now include bans on attending public events, pubs and clubs, prohibition of driving (regardless of whether the offence committed was a motoring offence), and restriction to specified geographic zones.

Early termination opportunities for community or suspended orders
The Bill introduces mechanisms that allow earlier termination of Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order conditions when offenders successfully complete the key requirements contained within the Order.

Enhanced monitoring through electronic tagging
Under the Bill, courts and the Probation Service will have expanded options for tagging, restriction zones, and drug testing for offenders given a Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order.

What are the special measures and ‘offender management’?

The ‘Progression Model’ for prison sentences
One of the most significant changes is the introduction of the three-stage progression model. Under this, many prisoners serving standard determinate sentences (SDS) may be released after one-third of the sentence, subject to intensive supervision, followed by a final licence stage. This replaces the previous automatic release points of 40 % or 50 % for many SDS sentences.

Whole Life Orders and serious offender provisions
The Bill retains the strictest sentencing regimes for the most serious offences and excludes them from the new suspension or early release powers. Offenders given extended determinate sentences or whole life orders remain outside these reforms.

Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) and deportation links
A notable feature is enhanced mechanisms for the earlier deportation of foreign national offenders. The Bill seeks to align sentencing rules with immigration and deportation processes.

Judicial findings for domestic abuse and expanded complainant protections
The Bill introduces a mandatory flag where domestic abuse is a factor, enhancing recognition of such harm at sentencing. Complainant protections are strengthened through licence conditions, tagging, and restriction zones.

What are the criticisms of the new Sentencing Bill 2024-25?

The Bill has received a mixed reception. Its supporters highlight the shift away from costly short custodial sentences and the potential relief for the overburdened prison system. Nevertheless, critics raise substantial concerns. Some caution that enabling more community supervision under intensive conditions will increase burdens on an already stretched probation service. Others argue that the Bill may weaken public protection if courts too readily apply suspended sentences or the progression model to medium-risk offenders.

In terms of impact, the Bill may reduce the demand for prison places by curtailing short custodial sentences, but much depends on judicial signals and resource allocation. The increased tagging, intensive supervision, and early release models all require investment in probation, monitoring infrastructure, and rehabilitation services. Without these, the Bill’s purpose may fail within the first few years of assent.

Conclusion

The Sentencing Bill 2024-25 attempts to balance the need for public protection,  prison capacity management, and rehabilitation. At the same time, it carries risks, particularly if the resources for community supervision, tagging, and probation are inadequate.

I will keep you updated as the Bill progresses through Parliament.

Frequently Asked Questions

What sentences are most affected by the new UK Sentencing Bill?
Short custodial sentences (12 months or less) and standard determinate sentences (SDS) are directly impacted by the Bill’s new presumption of suspension and progression model.

How does the Sentencing Bill change community sentences and suspended sentences?
The Bill extends the maximum suspended sentence period up to three years and gives courts new powers to include bans on driving, exclusion zones, attending pubs/clubs, and tagging as requirements in community or suspended sentence orders.

What mechanisms will monitor offenders released earlier or on community sentences?
Electronic monitoring, tagging, curfews, exclusion zones, drug testing, and intensive supervision form part of the Bill’s strategy for supervising released offenders.

Does the Sentencing Bill affect parole and early release rules?
Yes. The “Progression Model” changes the automatic release point for many prisoners and introduces intensive supervision before full licence release, altering parole-type mechanisms for standard determinate sentences.

How does the Sentencing Bill address complainants’ rights and protection?
Complainants’ protections are strengthened via mandatory domestic abuse findings at sentencing, enhanced supervision/licence conditions for offenders, and expanded tagging and exclusion powers.

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Please note that this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.