Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Pt. 12 modified (28.3.2009 for certain purposes, otherwise 31.10.2009) by Armed Forces Act 2006 (c. 52), ss. 183(4), 383 (as amended (1.4.2008) by The Offender Management Act 2007 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/912), art. 3, Sch. 1 para. 23(2)(b)); S.I. 2009/812, art. 3 (with transitional provisions in S.I. 2009/1059); S.I. 2009/1167, art. 4
C2Pt. 12 (ss. 142-305) modified (4.4.2005) by The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Sentencing) (Transitory Provisions) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/643), art. 3 (as amended (E.W.) (3.12.2012) by The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Consequential and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/2824), regs. 1, 3(1) (with reg. 3(2)) and as amended (1.12.2020 immediately before the consolidation date (see 2020 c. 9, ss. 3, 5(2)(3) and 2020 c. 17, ss. 2, 416)) by Sentencing (Pre-consolidation Amendments) Act 2020 (c. 9), s. 5(2)(3), Sch. 2 para. 139; S.I. 2012/1236, reg. 2)
Textual Amendments
F1Pt. 12 Ch. 6 heading substituted (3.12.2012) by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c. 10), s. 151(1), Sch. 14 para. 16; S.I. 2012/2906, art. 2(l)
F2Word in Pt. 12 Ch. 6 heading inserted (1.2.2015) by Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 (c. 11), s. 22(1), Sch. 3 para. 15 (with Sch. 7 para. 2); S.I. 2015/40, art. 2(u)
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C3Pt. 12 Ch. 6 applied to any person serving a sentence for an offence committed before 4 April 2005 (whenever that sentence was or is imposed) by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c. 10), ss. 121(1), 151(1); S.I. 2012/2906, art. 2(d)
C4Pt. 12 Ch. 6 applied (1.2.2015) by Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 (c. 11), s. 22(1), Sch. 7 para. 2(a); S.I. 2015/40, art. 2(x)
C5Pt. 12 Ch. 6 modified (1.12.2020) by Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), s. 245(1)(2)(c), 416(1) (with ss. 2, 245(3), 398(1), 406, Sch. 27); S.I. 2020/1236, reg. 2
C6Pt. 12 Ch. 6 modified (1.12.2020) by Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), s. 244(1)(2)(c), 416(1) (with ss. 2, 244(3), 398(1), 406, Sch. 27); S.I. 2020/1236, reg. 2
C7Pt. 12 Ch. 6 applied (29.6.2021) by 1984 c. 47, Sch. para. 2(3B) (as inserted by Counter Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 (c. 11), s. 50(2)(r), Sch. 11 para. 2)
Textual Amendments
F3Ss. 255A-255C and cross-heading substituted for ss. 255A-255D (3.12.2012) by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c. 10), ss. 114(1), 151(1) (with Sch. 15); S.I. 2012/2906, art. 2(d)
(1)A prisoner who is eligible for automatic release at the end of the section 255BA automatic release period (“P”) must—
(a)on return to prison, be informed that they will be released under this section (subject to subsections (5) to (9)), and
(b)at the end of the section 255BA automatic release period, be released by the Secretary of State on licence under this Chapter (unless P is released before that date under subsection (3) or P falls within subsection (9)(b)).
(2)The “section 255BA automatic release period”, in relation to P, means—
(a)if P is recalled under section 254 while on licence under a provision of this Chapter other than section 246, the period of 56 days beginning with the day on which P returns to custody;
(b)if P is recalled under section 254 while on licence under section 246, whichever of the following ends later—
(i)the period of 56 days beginning with the day on which P returns to custody;
(ii)the requisite custodial period which P would have served under section 243A or 244 but for the earlier release.
(3)The Secretary of State may, at any time after P is returned to prison, release P again on licence under this Chapter.
(4)The Secretary of State must not release P under subsection (3) unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that it is not necessary for the protection of the public that P should remain in prison until the end of the section 255BA automatic release period.
(5)Subsection (9) applies in relation to P if at any time the Secretary of State determines that P should not be released at the end of the section 255BA automatic release period.
(6)The Secretary of State may make a determination under subsection (5) only if one or both of the following conditions is satisfied.
(7)The first condition is that the Secretary of State believes on reasonable grounds that P would, if released, pose a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission of any of the following offences—
(a)murder;
(b)an offence listed in Schedule 18 to the Sentencing Code.
(8)The second condition is that, after P is recalled, the Secretary of State receives information—
(a)that results in a determination that P may be at risk of involvement in terrorism-related activity (within the meaning of section 325(9)),
(b)that results in the Secretary of State considering that P may be at risk of involvement in foreign power threat activity within the meaning of Part 1 of the National Security Act 2023 (see section 33 of that Act),
(c)that results in a determination that, if released at the end of the section 255BA automatic release period, P would be managed at level 2 or 3, as specified in guidance for the time being issued under section 325(8), by a responsible authority under arrangements made under that section (arrangements for assessing etc risks posed by certain offenders), or
(d)that P has been charged with an offence.
(9)Where this subsection applies—
(a)if the Secretary of State has already informed P that P will be released under this section, the Secretary of State must inform P that P will not be released under this section, and
(b)P is to be dealt with in accordance with section 255C (and accordingly not released under this section).
(10)The Secretary of State may by order amend either or both of paragraphs (a) and (b)(i) of subsection (2) so as to alter the period for the time being specified in those paragraphs.
(11)For the purposes of subsection (2), a person returns to custody when the person, having been recalled, is detained (whether or not in prison) in pursuance of the sentence.]
Textual Amendments
F4S. 255BA inserted (22.1.2026 for enabling the exercise of power to make regulations) by Sentencing Act 2026 (c. 2), ss. 32(2), 49(3)(c) (with s. 33(14))