The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Requisite and Minimum Custodial Periods) Order 2024

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order modifies the application of sections 243A, 244 and 264 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”).

The Secretary of State is required to release on licence prisoners serving fixed-term sentences once they have served the requisite custodial period, which is set by sections 243A(3) and 244(3) of the 2003 Act. Section 264 sets out the rules that apply to the calculation of the requisite custodial period where a prisoner is serving consecutive sentences.

Article 3(1), (2) and (3) of the Order modifies the application of sections 243A, 244(3)(a) and 264(6)(d) of the 2003 Act so that applicable prisoners are released from a sentence of imprisonment when they have served 40 per cent of an applicable sentence as opposed to the current 50 per cent.

The Order applies to prisoners who have not passed the current release point under sections 243A and 244 at the point of commencement, so will apply to existing prisoners serving qualifying sentences as well as any new sentences imposed after commencement. Unless the sentence is imposed after the first commencement date, the coming into force of this order under article 1(2) is staggered by sentence length. Article 1(2) read with the interpretation of “relevant sentence” in article 2(2) provides for the first commencement date on the 10th September 2024 to apply to sentences of less than 5 years. Where prisoners are serving concurrent sentences then all sentences will need to be less than 5 years for commencement to apply. Consecutive sentences are treated as one sentence and the overall length of all the consecutive sentences added together will need to be less than 5 years for the first commencement date to apply.

The second commencement date on 22nd October 2024 applies to prisoners with sentences of 5 years or more which were imposed before the first commencement date.

Article 3(4) and (5) excludes prisoners where they have been released under section 246 (early release on home detention curfew) or 248 (compassionate release) and those removed under section 260 (early removal scheme) from the ambit of the Order on the relevant commencement date, unless such prisoners are back in custody before commencement having been recalled and not re-released, or returned and not re-removed.

Article 3(6) excludes sentences for certain sexual, violent, domestic abuse, terrorism and national security offences from the change.

Article 3(7) provides that all inchoate offences of those that come under article 3(6) (including those listed in the Schedule) are also excluded.

Whilst the release provisions under Chapter 6 of Part 12 of the 2003 Act apply in relation to a sentence of imprisonment passed by a service court, article 3(8) is added in respect of the list of excluded offences in article 3(6) so there is parity with service offences.

Article 4 ensures that for those recalled from home detention curfew the calculation of whether they have served the requisite custodial period for the purposes of re-release after recall is as modified by this Order, only in relation to those to whom the modification applied.

A full Impact Assessment has been prepared for this instrument and will be published on the legislation.gov.uk website.