Sentencing Act 2020

PART 6 Supplementary

Adjournment of hearing

26 (1) This paragraph applies to any hearing relating to an offender held by a magistrates’ court in any proceedings under this Schedule.

(2) The court may adjourn the hearing, and, where it does so, may—

(a) direct that the offender be released forthwith, or

(b) remand the offender.

(3) Where the court remands the offender under sub-paragraph (2)—

(a) it must fix the time and place at which the hearing is to be resumed, and

(b) that time and place must be the time and place at which the offender is required to appear or be brought before the court by virtue of the remand.

(4) Where the court adjourns the hearing under sub-paragraph (2) but does not remand the offender—

(a) it may fix the time and place at which the hearing is to be resumed, but

(b) if it does not do so, it must not resume the hearing unless it is satisfied that—

(i) the offender, and

(ii) any officer of a provider of probation services who the court considers has an interest in the proceedings,

have had adequate notice of the time and place for the resumed hearing.

(5) The powers of a magistrates’ court under this paragraph may be exercised by a single justice of the peace, notwithstanding anything in the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980.

(6) This paragraph—

(a) applies to any hearing in any proceedings under this Schedule in place of section 10 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (adjournment of trial) where that section would otherwise apply, but

(b) is not to be taken to affect the application of that section to hearings of any other description.

Provision of copies of orders etc

27 (1) This paragraph applies on the making of an order by a court under this Schedule revoking or amending a community order.

(2) The court must provide copies of the revoking or amending order to—

(a) the offender, and

(b) the responsible officer.

(3) In the case of an amending order which substitutes a new local justice area as the offender’s home local justice area, the court must also provide a copy of the amending order to—

(a) a provider of probation services that is a public sector provider operating in that area, and

(b) the magistrates’ court acting in that area.

(4) In case of an amending order which imposes or amends a requirement specified in column 1 of the following table, the court must also provide the person specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 with a copy of so much of the amending order as relates to that requirement.

The requirement	The person to whom a copy must be provided
An exclusion requirement imposed for the purpose (or partly for the purpose) of protecting a person from being approached by the offender	The person intended to be protected
A residence requirement relating to residence in an institution	The person in charge of the institution
A mental health treatment requirement	The person specified under paragraph 16(3)(b)(iii) of Schedule 9 or the person in charge of the institution or place specified under paragraph 16(3)(b)(i) or (ii) of that Schedule
A drug rehabilitation requirement	The person in charge of the institution or place specified under paragraph 19(5)(b) or (c) of Schedule 9
An alcohol treatment requirement	The person in charge of the institution or place specified under paragraph 23(5)(c) or (d) of Schedule 9 or, in the case of practitioner-based treatment, the person specified under paragraph 23(5)(a) of that Schedule
An electronic monitoring requirement	Any person who by virtue of paragraph 31(1) of Schedule 9 will be responsible for the electronic monitoring
	Any person without whose consent the requirement could not be included in the order.

(5) Where the court acts in a local justice area other than the offender’s home local justice area specified in the order prior to the revocation or amendment (the “former home area”), the court must provide a copy of the revoking or amending order to a magistrates’ court acting in the former home area.

(6) Where under sub-paragraph (3) the court provides a copy of an amending order to a magistrates’ court acting in a different area, it must also provide that court with such documents and information relating to the case as it considers likely to be of assistance to a court acting in that area in the exercise of its functions in relation to the order.

(7) In this paragraph, “public sector provider” means—

(a) a probation trust or other public body, or

(b) the Secretary of State.