229.This section amends the 2003 Act to make provision for crediting periods of remand on bail on an electronically monitored curfew against a subsequent custodial sentence.
230.Subsection (2) confirms that the new provisions will not apply to a service court. Subsection (3) amends the heading preceding section 240 of the 2003 Act.
231.Subsection (4) inserts a new section 240A into the 2003 Act. The new section 240A will apply only to prisoners whose offence was committed on or after 4 April 2005 and who have been remanded on bail, subject to a qualifying electronically monitored curfew bail condition, on or after the commencement of section 240A (section 240A(1)). The qualifying conditions are defined in sections 240A(12). They provide that in order to qualify for the credit provisions a person must be subject to a curfew condition of 9 hours or more per day, and that that curfew must be subject to electronic monitoring.
232.Unless Rules under section 240A(6) provide otherwise, or the Court considers it would not be just in all the circumstances, the Court must direct that the “credit period” is to be counted as time served toward the sentence (section 240A(2)). The credit period is defined in section 240A(3). A person will receive credit at the rate of a half a day for every day spent subject to a qualifying electronically monitored curfew.
233.Section 240A(5) allows the court to direct that, where the prisoner has not been given the full available credit, a partial credit may be awarded. In exercising their discretion to make a direction, sentencers must take into account the extent to which the prisoner has complied with the qualifying curfew condition and electronic monitoring condition (section 240A(7)). The Court must state in open court the number of days for which the prisoner was subject to the relevant conditions, the number of days credit that is to be directed or whether no direction is to be made. Where none of the period is to be credited, or only part of it, the courts must explain the reasons for the decision (sections 240A(8),(9) and (10).
234.Subsections (5) and (6) insert amendments to the 2003 Act to provide for the effect of a direction given under section 240A on a person released on licence, and to ensure that section 240A is captured in the relevant interpretation provisions.
235.Subsection (7) provides that rules made under section 240A will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.