Found: The Sentencing Bill introduced on 2 September 2025 features “the biggest expansion of tagging since

Found: Jake Richards MP, Minister for Sentencing, dated 30 October 2025 relating to amendments to the Sentencing Bill

Found: Bill: Correspondence from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, dated 23 October 2025 Sentencing Bill

Found: The government’s new Sentencing Bill and the ‘Earned Progression model’ set out within it directly links

Found: Deputy Prime Minister Letter to JCHR Chair regarding the Sentencing Bill Correspondence

Found: Sentencing Bill During the session, the Committee asked about the Sentencing Bill’s proposal to introduce

Found: We have that in the Sentencing Bill, which is fantastic. We will be voting on it again tomorrow.

Found: We have that in the Sentencing Bill, which is fantastic. We will be voting on it again tomorrow.

Found: We have that in the Sentencing Bill, which is fantastic. We will be voting on it again tomorrow.

Found: We have that in the Sentencing Bill, which is fantastic. We will be voting on it again tomorrow.

Found: This should not be overly expensive and as part of the Sentencing Bill, there is already a commitment

Found: The upcoming enactment of the Sentencing Bill will see rapid and fundamental changes to the liberty

Found: This should not be overly expensive and as part of the Sentencing Bill, there is already a commitment

Found: The upcoming enactment of the Sentencing Bill will see rapid and fundamental changes to the liberty

Found: Independent Review of Prison Capacity.4 Following the conclusion of the Sentencing Review, the Sentencing Bill

Found: Correspondence from the Committee to the Lord Chancellor regarding The Sentencing Bill dated 16 October

Found: The Committee then asked whether it would be appropriate to use the Sentencing Bill to introduce this

Found: This punitive drift is being extended further, with the new Sentencing Bill introducing an assumption

Found: enhance understanding of sentencing (for example, as delivered ahead of the implementation of the Sentencing Bill

Found: It has been reported that the upcoming Sentencing Bill will include measures to limit the movement of

Found: The Sentencing Bill was laid before Parliament on 2nd September 2025.

Found: contracts, which presumably could be for additional tags that might come as a result of the Sentencing Bill

Found: for Justice, to the Chair, Justice and Home Affairs Committee following the introduction of the Sentencing Bill

Found: Q47 Josh Babarinde: I will move on to the next question on the sentencing Bill, whose second reading

Found: Q47 Josh Babarinde: I will move on to the next question on the sentencing Bill, whose second reading

Found: Correspondence from Sir Nic Dakin MP, Minister for Sentencing, dated 2 September 2025: Sentencing Bill

Found: Q47 Josh Babarinde: I will move on to the next question on the sentencing Bill, whose second reading

Found: Q47 Josh Babarinde: I will move on to the next question on the sentencing Bill, whose second reading

Found: Chair: Can you outline the discussions you have had with the MoJ about the implications of the Sentencing Bill

Found: But clearly, in light of the recent announcements, not least reflected in the Sentencing Bill before

Found: debate during the Committee Stage of Lord Woodley’s Imprisonment for Public Protection (Re-sentencing) Bill

Found: or so, particularly on the sentencing review, because the Government yesterday published the Sentencing Bill

Found: Correspondence from the Lord Chancellor, dated 25 July 2025: Recall and the Sentencing Bill Correspondence

Found: debate during the Committee Stage of Lord Woodley’s Imprisonment for Public Protection (Re-sentencing) Bill

Found: , that is not a counsel of despair, because if you look at the evidence that accompanied the sentencing Bill

Found: A review of evidence. 12 Ministry of Justice (2023) Policy Paper, Sentencing Bill Factsheet: Short Sentences

Found: Correspondence to the Lord Chancellor, dated 8 July 2025 relating to Recall and the Sentencing Bill Correspondence

Found: you come to us in a very busy week for justice, and we are expecting the publication of the sentencing Bill

Found: As a result of what we think will be the changes in the Sentencing Bill, we are going to look at whether

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's webpage entitled Prisons data, Additional data, how many of the 262 prisoners released in error in 2024-5 were returned to custody.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.

Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any disciplinary action has been taken against (a) prison staff or (b) senior officials due to the erroneous release of prisoners since 1 April 2025.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.

The Ministry of Justice cannot provide the information requested. National conduct and discipline data for prison staff is published as part of the HMPPS Staff Equalities Report Official Statistics release available on gov.uk. The latest available data covers the period up to March 2024. Data for the period up to March 2025 is scheduled for publication in November 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the total cost to the public purse of the operation to (a) locate and (b) re-apprehend Hadush Kebatu following his release from custody.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.

Locating and re-apprehending a suspect relate to policing and are a matter for the Home Office.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people released from custody in error remain at large since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.

Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK and provide data up to March 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released from prison early in error since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur. As the Deputy Prime Minister set out to the House, immediate measures have been introduced to strengthen release checks across prisons – making them the strongest release checks to ever be in place.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and, now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again.

Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK, and provide data up to March 2025.

The total number of releases in error from 5 July 2024 to 31 March 2025 is 193.

The number of people who have been released in error since April 2025 cannot be provided because it would form a subset of releases in error data which underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been mistakenly released from custody since 1 April 2025; and how many of those prisoners (a) were subsequently re-apprehended and (b) are still at large.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again

Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab), and provide data up to March 2025.

The number of people who have been released in error since April 2025 cannot be provided because it would form a subset of releases in error data which underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will provide a breakdown by prison establishment of the number of prisoners who have been erroneously released since 1 April 2025.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again

Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab), and provide data up to March 2025.

The number of people who have been released in error since April 2025 cannot be provided because it would form a subset of releases in error data which underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences have been erroneously released since 1 April 2025.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again

Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab), and provide data up to March 2025.

The number of people who have been released in error since April 2025 cannot be provided because it would form a subset of releases in error data which underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners serving sentences for violent offences have been erroneously released since 1 April 2025.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Releases in error have been increasing for several years and are another symptom of the prison system crisis inherited by this Government.

While the overwhelming majority of offenders are released correctly, we are clamping down on those releases in error that do occur – including through improved staff training and establishing a new specialist unit. A joint protocol between HMPPS and NPCC is in place, to ensure effective and timely communication between partner agencies when an individual is released in error to rearrest them as quickly as possible.

We have gripped this chaos – by building more prison places, ending the last Government’s early release scheme, being transparent with the public, immediately making changes to sentences to ease pressure on the system and now, taking landmark reforms through our Sentencing Bill to make sure that prisons never run out of places again

Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab), and provide data up to March 2025.

The number of people who have been released in error since April 2025 cannot be provided because it would form a subset of releases in error data which underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the restriction zone requirement in the Sentencing Bill would apply to convicted murderers on a life sentence; and whether the conditions of convicted murderers would be independently managed by the parole board.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

It is crucial that we have a justice system that punishes offenders and supports victims. That is why increasing restriction on serious sexual and violent offenders is part of our Plan for Change to cut crime and make streets safer.

Through the Sentencing Bill, we are introducing a new power which will allow restriction zones to be imposed on offenders on licence, where appropriate. These will restrict certain offenders to specific areas – so their victims know they are safe wherever else they want to go. We are working to finalise the operation of, and eligibility for, the new restriction zones, subject to the passage of the Sentencing Bill

Where an offender is serving a life sentence, they may only be released once they have completed their minimum term (or tariff) set by the court and where the independent Parole Board is satisfied that they no longer need to be detained for the protection of the public. If the Board directs the release of a life-sentence prisoner, it will also decide what licence conditions will apply to safely manage the offender in the community. Any subsequent variation of the conditions on a life licence will also be a matter for the Parole Board to decide.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of reoffending rates for prisoners released under the early release scheme.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We have had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.

Whilst this change provided the intended medium-term relief, it was only ever a temporary change to bridge to a more sustainable solution. The Sentencing Bill has now been introduced to ensure we never run out of prison space again.

Our initial operational insights suggested there was not a significant change to the use and application of recall since the implementation of SDS40. We will, however, continue to monitor this.

The requested information cannot be provided because it would form a subset of the data that underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

Proven reoffending rates are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for paying for prisoners with addictions released on the early release scheme to continue their recovery in alcohol and drug rehabilitation centres.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse and had to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. SDS40 is a temporary measure to provide relief to the system, and following the Independent Sentencing Review, we have now introduced the Sentencing Bill to Parliament. This will introduce a new Progression Model, as a key part of delivering a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis.

We know that continued engagement with drug and alcohol treatment both within and beyond custody is vital to reduce reoffending. It is crucial that those released early can access support effectively within the community, especially as the first few weeks of release are high-risk for relapse, overdose and reoffending.

Responsibility for the funding and commissioning of substance misuse treatment lies with the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS Wales. The Ministry of Justice works very closely with health partners to ensure accessible pathways for offenders which meet their needs, including Residential Rehabilitation which can be an effective treatment option for some. This includes recruiting Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide, who strengthen links between prisons, treatment providers and probation, alongside secure laptops across prisons to enable prisoners to virtually meet with community treatment providers prior to their release. We have also established the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Expert Panel, chaired by Lord Timpson, which brings together leading experts to identify opportunities to strengthen the Ministry of Justice’s approach.

The latest data from August 2025 shows that 54% of adults released with an ongoing substance misuse need engaged in treatment within 3 weeks of release, an increase from 38% in April 2021.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is his policy that offenders to be deported under Clause 32 in the Sentencing Bill would be required to serve any custodial sentence in their home country.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Sentencing Bill will amend the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) to allow eligible Foreign National Offenders (FNO) serving determinate sentences to be removed from prison for the purposes of immediate deportation any time after sentencing. FNOs removed under ERS are not subject to further imprisonment after they are removed from the UK but are barred from ever returning to the UK. If they return unlawfully, they will be liable to serve the rest of their sentence from the point they were deported.

Those serving life and other indeterminate sentences are not eligible for removal under ERS. Offenders serving a terrorism or terrorism-connected offence are also excluded from removal. ERS can be refused by HMPPS in certain circumstances for example if there is serious evidence an offender is planning a further crime.

Prisoner Transfer Agreements, where prisoners continue to serve their sentence in their home countries, will still be used in certain circumstances where we have an agreement in place and there is cooperation with the receiving country. Enhancing our prisoner transfer capability with partner countries remains important to the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had discussions with his Northern Irish counterpart on increasing capacity in the prison estate.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Secretary of State for Justice has not yet had discussions with his Northern Irish counterpart on increasing capacity in the prison estate.

However, the UK Government is in regular dialogue with the Northern Ireland Executive on prison capacity challenges at ministerial level through the Inter-Ministerial Group for Justice, and at official level through the Five Nations Forum on Prison Capacity, as well as bilaterally. Lord Timpson will shortly be visiting Northern Ireland to meet the Northern Ireland Justice Minister, where they will discuss a range of justice related issues, including prison capacity.

The UK Government has already taken action to progress towards a sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis in England and Wales. On 22 May, David Gauke’s Sentencing Review was published, and on 2 September we introduced legislation to take forward most of the recommendations made by the review. Our landmark sentencing reforms will ensure we never run out of prison places again.

To ensure we have sufficient capacity in the lead up to implementation of the Sentencing Bill, the previous Lord Chancellor also announced further measures to manage the prison population, such as extending the Home Detention Curfew, and expanding the Early Removal Scheme, enabling the earlier removal of foreign national offenders.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how the (a) proposed earned progression model and (b) consequential increase in tagging will operate for people released from prison without suitable accommodation.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Sentencing Bill will introduce a new earned progression model which will see offenders enter a period of intensive supervision once they are released from custody. We are providing probation with wider powers to ensure they can continue to effectively manage offenders in the community with the level of supervision tailored according to their risk and the type of crime they committed.

Alongside the progression model, we will also introduce a presumption that prison leavers will be electronically monitored to ensure they are closely monitored in the community. This will result in thousands more offenders tagged, to manage risk and increase protection for victims. The Probation Service will, however, retain the ability to exercise its professional judgement to ensure that only those who are suitable receive a tag based on an individual’s risk and circumstances including accommodation status.

HMPPS delivers a transitional accommodation service, known as Community Accommodation Service – Tier 3 (CAS-3) which supports prison leavers who are at risk of being released from prison homeless and will be subject to probation supervision upon release by providing up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation. We are expanding our community accommodation service to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness while additionally we are increasing the probation annual budget to expand our community accommodation service for those at risk of homelessness, as well as tagging and monitoring tens of thousands more offenders in the community.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that prison-based treatment and rehabilitation services are adequately resourced for the provisions of the Sentencing Bill.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We know that continued engagement with treatment is vital to addressing the underlying causes of offending. That is why we want to divert offenders with a substance misuse need away from custody and into community treatment where appropriate. For those where a prison sentence is appropriate, we need to make prison a place that reforms offenders and supports them to recover from substance misuse.

The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure that all offenders who need it have access to high-quality alcohol and substance misuse treatment. Responsibility for commissioning and delivery of substance misuse treatment in the community lies with Local Authorities, and NHS England is responsible for treatment in custody. While decisions about future funding positions are ongoing, they are considering the needs of offenders. This is demonstrated by DHSC’s existing, targeted investment to support those referred by the criminal justice system, including funding 575 drug and alcohol workers with criminal justice specialisms who work closely with prisons, probation and in courts as well as the police to improve access to and quality of treatment. The National Partnership Agreement sets out the basis of a shared understanding of, and commitment to, the way in which the partners will work together.

The Ministry of Justice’s overall Impact Assessment was published with the Sentencing Bill and noted that more offenders can be expected to be diverted from short custodial sentences to suspended sentence orders. This will likely result in more people in the community who would have otherwise required treatment in prison needing support. We are also extending drug testing powers through the Sentencing Bill, meaning any offender on licence can be tested. This may lead to an increase in treatment referrals.

The Impact Assessment sets out that delivering treatment in prison is often more costly than delivering it in the community. By diverting someone from prison, we are not increasing the number of people who need treatment but are changing the setting in which they receive it. We are working closely with DHSC on the impacts and will be engaging with the sector.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed powers for probation to test offenders on licence on the (a) capacity and (b) resourcing of local drug and alcohol treatment services.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We know that continued engagement with treatment is vital to addressing the underlying causes of offending. That is why we want to divert offenders with a substance misuse need away from custody and into community treatment where appropriate. For those where a prison sentence is appropriate, we need to make prison a place that reforms offenders and supports them to recover from substance misuse.

The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure that all offenders who need it have access to high-quality alcohol and substance misuse treatment. Responsibility for commissioning and delivery of substance misuse treatment in the community lies with Local Authorities, and NHS England is responsible for treatment in custody. While decisions about future funding positions are ongoing, they are considering the needs of offenders. This is demonstrated by DHSC’s existing, targeted investment to support those referred by the criminal justice system, including funding 575 drug and alcohol workers with criminal justice specialisms who work closely with prisons, probation and in courts as well as the police to improve access to and quality of treatment. The National Partnership Agreement sets out the basis of a shared understanding of, and commitment to, the way in which the partners will work together.

The Ministry of Justice’s overall Impact Assessment was published with the Sentencing Bill and noted that more offenders can be expected to be diverted from short custodial sentences to suspended sentence orders. This will likely result in more people in the community who would have otherwise required treatment in prison needing support. We are also extending drug testing powers through the Sentencing Bill, meaning any offender on licence can be tested. This may lead to an increase in treatment referrals.

The Impact Assessment sets out that delivering treatment in prison is often more costly than delivering it in the community. By diverting someone from prison, we are not increasing the number of people who need treatment but are changing the setting in which they receive it. We are working closely with DHSC on the impacts and will be engaging with the sector.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the funding required for community drug and alcohol treatment providers to support the additional cohort of offenders serving sentences in the community under the provisions of the Sentencing Bill.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We know that continued engagement with treatment is vital to addressing the underlying causes of offending. That is why we want to divert offenders with a substance misuse need away from custody and into community treatment where appropriate. For those where a prison sentence is appropriate, we need to make prison a place that reforms offenders and supports them to recover from substance misuse.

The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure that all offenders who need it have access to high-quality alcohol and substance misuse treatment. Responsibility for commissioning and delivery of substance misuse treatment in the community lies with Local Authorities, and NHS England is responsible for treatment in custody. While decisions about future funding positions are ongoing, they are considering the needs of offenders. This is demonstrated by DHSC’s existing, targeted investment to support those referred by the criminal justice system, including funding 575 drug and alcohol workers with criminal justice specialisms who work closely with prisons, probation and in courts as well as the police to improve access to and quality of treatment. The National Partnership Agreement sets out the basis of a shared understanding of, and commitment to, the way in which the partners will work together.

The Ministry of Justice’s overall Impact Assessment was published with the Sentencing Bill and noted that more offenders can be expected to be diverted from short custodial sentences to suspended sentence orders. This will likely result in more people in the community who would have otherwise required treatment in prison needing support. We are also extending drug testing powers through the Sentencing Bill, meaning any offender on licence can be tested. This may lead to an increase in treatment referrals.

The Impact Assessment sets out that delivering treatment in prison is often more costly than delivering it in the community. By diverting someone from prison, we are not increasing the number of people who need treatment but are changing the setting in which they receive it. We are working closely with DHSC on the impacts and will be engaging with the sector.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much capacity within the prison estate will be created via the deportation of foreign national offenders by 31 December 2025.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The removal of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) is a priority of this Government. Deporting FNOs as quickly as possible protects the public, reduces pressures on prison capacity and lessens the associated expense to the taxpayer.

From 5 July 2024 to 4 July 2025 there were 2,632 Early Removal Scheme (ERS) removals from prison, which is a 10% increase compared to the 2,385 in the same period 12 months prior.

And this Government is going further: on 23 September we changed the law to reduce the time that FNOs must serve in prison before removal to 30% of their prison sentence. In steady state we expect this change will free up approximately 500 additional prison spaces a year.

Additionally, the Sentencing Bill currently before Parliament proposes to remove the minimum time to serve requirement altogether so that FNOs can be eligible for deportation immediately after they are sentenced.

The timing of when prison place savings will be realised from deporting FNOs is dependent on the Home Office’s rate of removals which will continue to be monitored over the coming months.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 11 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, whether he has made progress on expanding the (a) legal and (b) law enforcement toolkit.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested regarding the law enforcement toolkit falls under the responsibility of the Home Office.

However, my Department shares responsibility for the legal toolkit. We are strengthening the legislative framework to better combat state and non-state actors that pose a national security risk. Through the Sentencing Bill, we are introducing more robust sentencing and release arrangements for national security offences, and through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing changes to strengthen our management of terrorist risk in prison and in the community on licence. In relation to combatting criminal gangs who are engaged in people trafficking and illegal migration, a key part of the National Security Strategy 2025, my Department is working with the Home Office to deliver the Government's agenda to use legal tools to swiftly remove those with no legal right to remain in the UK and deter dangerous small boat crossings and the vile trade of people traffickers.

National security is of the upmost importance to this Government and implementing the National Security Strategy will continue to be a priority for this Department.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the provisions in Part Two of the Sentencing Bill on victims of domestic abuse.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Sentencing Bill includes a range of measures that will strengthen protections for victims of domestic abuse and ensure the justice system responds robustly to offending. These measures will help to ensure that prisons never run out of space again and dangerous offenders can be kept off the streets.

We are introducing a new judicial finding of domestic abuse at sentencing, which will help ensure domestic abuse offenders are better identified and monitored throughout the system. This will support stronger protections for victims, whether the perpetrator is in custody or in the community.

The Bill also retains a different release point for the most serious violent and sexual offenders and gives judges full discretion to impose immediate custody in cases involving significant risk of harm to an individual – including to protect victims of domestic abuse. In addition, we are imposing tough restriction zones for serious sexual and violent offenders, which limit the movement of perpetrators rather than victims.

These reforms are part of our wider commitment to a justice system that punishes offenders, protects the public, and supports victims – including those affected by domestic abuse.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether bereaved families of victims of murder would be protected under the restriction zone requirement in the Sentencing Bill.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

It is crucial that we have a justice system that punishes offenders and supports victims. That is why increasing restriction on serious sexual and violent offenders is part of our Plan for Change to cut crime and make streets safer.

Through the Sentencing Bill, we are introducing a new power which will allow restriction zones on offenders to be imposed on offenders on licence, where appropriate. These will restrict certain offenders to specific areas – so their victims know they are safe wherever else they want to go. Licence conditions for offenders convicted of murder are determined by the independent Parole Board.

We are working to finalise the operation of, and eligibility for, these zones, subject to the passage of the Sentencing Bill.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the restriction zone requirement in the Sentencing Bill would apply to offenders of murder.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

It is crucial that we have a justice system that punishes offenders and supports victims. That is why increasing restriction on serious sexual and violent offenders is part of our Plan for Change to cut crime and make streets safer.

Through the Sentencing Bill, we are introducing a new power which will allow restriction zones on offenders to be imposed on offenders on licence, where appropriate. These will restrict certain offenders to specific areas – so their victims know they are safe wherever else they want to go. Licence conditions for offenders convicted of murder are determined by the independent Parole Board.

We are working to finalise the operation of, and eligibility for, these zones, subject to the passage of the Sentencing Bill.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase mandatory random drug testing in prisons in England and Wales, and to expand the range of drugs tested for.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is committed to tackling drug use in prisons, which threatens prison safety and security, undermines our work to rehabilitate prisoners and drives reoffending. We therefore need to have a multi-pronged approach that tackles the supply of drugs, drives down demand and supports recovery – drug testing plays an important role in delivering this.

Random mandatory drug testing (rMDT) forms one part of our wider approach to tackling drug use in prisons. In custody, we also conduct more targeted testing, such as suspicion-based testing, when staff have reason to believe an individual has used drugs illicitly, as well as voluntary testing, which forms part of our approach on our Incentivised Substance Free Living Units, where prisoners sign a compact to remain drug free, receive access to improved conditions compared to a standard wing and are regularly tested. In probation settings, we are expanding our drug testing powers through the Sentencing Bill, meaning that any offender on licence can be tested.

We test for a wide range of substances and keep this under regular review to ensure we identify emerging trends to keep both staff and prisoners safe. Our new drug testing contract supports this by giving us greater flexibility to identify areas for improvement in our drug testing capabilities, ensuring we can keep pace with changing patterns of drug use and target support where it is most needed.

In recent years, levels of rMDT have fallen short across the estate because of staffing constraints, and as a result, volumes have not been sufficient nor consistently high enough to produce publishable data – though results are still used as part of adjudication proceedings. There has been some encouraging progress made in recent months to increase levels, and we will continue to keep performance under close review.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has a target date for acquiring adequate numbers of electronic tags to accommodate the provisions of the Sentencing Bill.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service are continuing to assess the likely impact of the Sentencing Bill on demand for Electronic Monitoring and will order the required numbers of tags in line with those assessments and contractual requirements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many electronic tags his Department has acquired in the context of the Sentencing Bill.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service are continuing to assess the likely impact of the Sentencing Bill on demand for Electronic Monitoring and will order the required numbers of tags in line with those assessments and contractual requirements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Justice Secretary introduces democratic lock over Sentencing Council, published on 2 September 2025, what plans she has for enabling Parliament to (a) scrutinise and (b) influence future Sentencing Council guidelines.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Lord Chancellor has brought forward measures in the Sentencing Bill to ensure that there is stronger democratic and judicial oversight of sentencing guidelines the Sentencing Council produces.

The Council will be placed under a statutory obligation to obtain approval from both the Lord Chancellor and Lady Chief Justice for all guidelines. This means that no guidelines can be issued without the Lord Chancellor and Lady Chief Justice each explicitly approving it. The Council will also be required to obtain Lord Chancellor approval of its annual business plan.

The Sentencing Council has an existing statutory obligation to consult with the Justice Select Committee on draft sentencing guidelines, which is unaffected by the measures we are taking forward in the Sentencing Bill.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Criminals to face football, travel, club and pub bans, published on 23 August 2025, what impact her Department estimates these measures will have on (a) rates of first offence and (b) rates of reoffence.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Through the Sentencing Bill we will introduce new powers available to the courts when imposing a community or suspended sentence. This will provide courts with greater flexibility than ever before to tailor punishments to offenders and ensure sentences served in the community are not a “soft option” but represent a genuine punishment by restricting offenders’ freedoms.

The four new powers which this Bill includes are:

• Banning offenders from attending public events (including sports events);

• Banning offenders from attending drinking establishments (including pubs, clubs and bars);

• Prohibiting offenders from driving, and

• Requiring an offender to stay within a geographic location (restriction zones).

We believe that these new powers, for example banning criminals from football matches and pubs, will help to deter offending and hammer home that under this Government, crime no longer pays.

The Sentencing Bill seeks to increase the robustness of community sentencing. Evidence suggests that community orders and suspended sentences are more effective than short custodial sentences at reducing reoffending in certain circumstances.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of community sentencing in reducing reoffending.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)

There is evidence that community orders and suspended sentence orders are more effective at reducing reoffending than sentences of immediate custody in certain circumstances.

Robust analysis (using a matched comparison group to account for cohort differences such as drug use and unemployment), found that custodial sentences of less than 12 months were associated with higher reoffending rates (4 percentage points difference) compared to court orders (community or suspended sentence): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d1c732ee5274a08cdbe45c4/impact-short-custodial-sentences.pdf.

The Department’s latest published reoffending data (July to September 2023) shows that the one year proven reoffending rate for those on a court order was 34% and 62% for those released from a determinant sentence of less than 12 months: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/proven-reoffending-statistics-july-and-september-2023.

Ministry of Justice research findings indicate that individuals sentenced with a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement reoffend less often compared with those given a short custodial sentence. For example, Mental Health Treatment Requirements recipients had a lower reoffending rate than those on a short custodial sentence recipients by 9 percentage points.

We welcome the Independent Sentencing Review’s emphasis on increasing the use of community sentences for lower-level offenders, ensuring that prisons are focused on locking up the most dangerous offenders.

In the Sentencing Bill, we have introduced new powers to allow the courts to have greater flexibility than ever before to tailor punishments to offenders and ensure sentences served in the community are not a “soft option” but represent a genuine punishment by restricting offenders’ freedoms.

These new powers will include banning offenders from driving, from attending pubs and bars, as well as public events such as sports and concerts. We are also introducing tough new restriction zones that will limit offenders to a specific geographical area.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she is taking steps to reduce the use of short custodial sentences for non-violent offences.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)

In line with the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendation on reducing the use of short custodial sentences, the Sentencing Bill 2025 introduces a presumption to suspend short custodial sentences of 12 months or less, including for non-violent offences. We are not abolishing short sentences - judges will always have the power to send offenders to prison where they have breached a court order, where there is a significant risk of physical or psychological harm to a particular individual, or in exceptional circumstances.

Evidence shows community orders and suspended sentences can be more effective at reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. Around 60% of adults jailed for under a year reoffend within 12 months. Ministry of Justice matched cohort research shows offenders released from short prison sentences of less than 12 months reoffend at a higher rate (up to 4pp) than similar offenders given a community or suspended sentence.

Limiting the use of short sentences will not only help offenders to leave the merry-go-round of re-offending but reduce crime, leading to fewer victims and safer communities.

Found: Sentencing Bill

Found: Imprisonment for Public Protection (Re-sentencing) Bill [HL] MARSHALLED LIST OF AMENDMENTS TO BE

Found: Imprisonment for Public Protection (Re-sentencing) Bill [HL] RUNNING LIST OF ALL AMENDMENTS IN COMMITTEE

Found: It subsequently delayed these plans to reflect final policy decisions included in the Sentencing Bill

Found: We introduced the Sentencing Bill on 2nd September to take forward many of the core recommendations

Found: We expect this risk to stabilise once the Sentencing Bill has been passed and reforms are implemented

Found: We expect this risk to stabilise once the Sentencing Bill has been passed and reforms are implemented

Found: And I will carry on that transformative work, Through the Sentencing Bill… Delivering punishment that

Found: This comes as part of the second reading of the Sentencing Bill in the House of Commons.

Found: This announcement follows the introduction of the Sentencing Bill which set out plans to reform sentencing

Found: Change £100m extra investment and new expectation all prisoners will be tagged when leaving jail Sentencing Bill

Found: As part of the Sentencing Bill, introduced in the House of Commons today, both the Justice Secretary

Found: Sentencing Bill 2025

Found: Sentencing Bill 2025

Found: Sentencing Bill 2025

Found: sentences of less than six months (which was included, and extended to 12 months, in the 2024 Sentencing Bill

Found: We introduced the Sentencing Bill on 2nd September to take forward many of the core recommendations

Found: I look forward to us continuing this in the year ahead as the Government’s sentencing bill is implemented

Found: , as the Board adapts to incorporate the changes to the sentencing framework expected in the Sentencing Bill

Found: As part of the Sentencing Bill, introduced in the House of Commons today, both the Justice Secretary