Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders sentenced to custody served half or less than their full sentence term as a result of early release in each year from 2015 to date.

Under section 244 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 most prisoners sentenced to a standard determinate sentence are required to be released at the half-way point, with the remainder served on licence.

Most prisoners serve standard determinate sentences (SDS). Until recently, this meant that they were released automatically at the half-way point of the sentence, regardless of the nature of the offence. We believe that serious violent and sexual offenders should serve sentences that truly reflect the severity of the crime, which will help to protect the public and give victims confidence that justice has been served. Since 1 April 2020, and the implementation of the Release of Prisoners (Alteration of Relevant Proportion of Sentence) Order 2020, anyone given an SDS of 7 years or more for serious sexual or violent offences where the maximum penalty is a life sentence is required to spend two-thirds – rather than half – of that sentence in prison before being released on licence. In the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, we are seeking to extend this to those sentenced to an SDS of between 4 – 7 years for certain serious sexual and violent offences.

Table 1 (attached) gives the relevant information.