(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order amends section 246 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) and the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Requisite and Minimum Custodial Periods) Order 2024 (“the 2024 Order”).
Article 2 amends the eligibility period for Home Detention Curfew. Section 246 of the 2003 Act gives the Secretary of State a discretionary power to release certain prisoners on Home Detention Curfew, which is a release on licence where they are subject to an electronically monitored curfew in the community in accordance with sections 250(5) and 253 of the 2003 Act. Where a requisite custodial period is at least 6 weeks long and half of that period has been served, section 246(1)(a) of the 2003 Act provides that the release can be up to 180 days earlier. Article 2 of this Order amends section 246(1)(a) of the 2003 Act so that prisoners serving fixed-term sentences can be released at any time up to 365 days before they have served their requisite custodial period.
The Secretary of State is required to release prisoners serving fixed-term sentences once they have served the requisite custodial period, which is set by sections 243A(3) and 244(3) of the 2003 Act. Section 264 sets out the rules that apply to the calculation of the requisite custodial period where a prisoner is serving consecutive sentences. The 2024 Order modifies the application of sections 243A, 244, and 264 of the 2003 Act so that release from sentences of certain offences is at 40% instead of 50%. Article 3 amends the 2024 Order to add a further six offences to the list of offences excluded from that change. This Order applies to prisoners who have not passed the current release point under sections 243A and 244 at the point of commencement, so will apply to existing prisoners serving qualifying sentences, as well as any new sentences imposed after commencement.
Article 4 excludes prisoners from the amendments to the 2024 Order where they have been released under sections 246 (power to release prisoners on licence before required to do so), 248 (power to release prisoners on compassionate grounds) or removed under section 260 (early removal of prisoners liable to, or eligible for, removal from the United Kingdom) of the 2003 Act from the ambit of the 2024 Order on the relevant commencement date, unless such prisoners are recalled before, on, or after the commencement date.
A full Impact Assessment has not been produced for articles 3 and 4 of this instrument as no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen, however a full Impact Assessment has been prepared for article 2 and will be published on the legislation.gov.uk website.