Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any prisoners convicted of violent offences are scheduled for early release.

Certain offences have been excluded from this change. This includes serious violent offences with a sentence of four years or more; specified offences linked to domestic abuse irrespective of sentence length (including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation); sex offences irrespective of sentence length; as well as offences concerning national security. The change will also not apply to sentences subject to release at the discretion of the Parole Board or to certain sexual and violent offences which currently attract automatic release from an SDS at the two-thirds point.

This change means that by law, an offender serving multiple sentences could have a mixture of some sentences that are eligible for the 40% release point and others that are not. Someone serving a sentence for an excluded offence will not see their custodial time for that sentence reduced.