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Sentencing Bill

The Sentencing Bill 2024-25 was introduced to the House of Commons on 2 September 2025 and had its second reading on 16 September 2025. It proceeded through its committee stage on 21 October 2025, with its report stage scheduled for 29 October 2025.

The following supporting government documents have been published alongside the bill:

• explanatory notes
• human rights memorandum
• delegated powers memorandum
• impact assessment

The Ministry of Justice has also published a series of factsheets.

What would the bill do?

The bill would introduce various changes to sentencing law and the law governing the management of offenders after sentencing. This would include changes to the sentencing of lower-level offences, release provisions for some determinate sentenced prisoners, community order requirements and restrictions available for post-prison supervision.

For the most part, the bill would do this by amending the Sentencing Code, which is the statutory term for parts 2 to 13 of the Sentencing Act 2020, an act that consolidated much of the foregoing sentencing law.

The ‘earned progression’ scheme

A key provision in the bill is the ‘earned progression scheme’. The earned progression scheme would see many prisoners on standard determinate sentences being released earlier. They would then have a period of enhanced supervision in the community followed by a period on licence which was unsupervised.

Stakeholders have raised concerns about the impact of early releases on victims, and the impact of early release on the Probation Service and community resources. Some stakeholders are concerned that the bill does not go far enough to limit the prison population and other stakeholders have raised concerns that the early release provisions would not apply to children.

Why has the bill been introduced?

The bill would implement some of the recommendations in the Independent Sentencing Review. The review was led by David Gauke, a former Secretary of State for Justice. The Sentencing Review was commissioned in October 2024 by the then Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood. The report of the Sentencing Review was published in May 2025.

The review was commissioned in the context of growing concern that the prison population was projected to rise beyond the available prison capacity. It was therefore asked to look at, among other things, the use of non-custodial sentences and community alternatives, the release of offenders, and the use and effect of short sentences.

As of 8 September 2025, the total prison population is 88,045, while the useable operational capacity of the prison estate is 89,720. That means there are currently 1,675 prison places available for use; just under 2% of the prison estate’s operational capacity.

The most recent set of projections give a central estimate for the prison population of 93,500 by September 2026 and a range from 95,000 to 103,800 by September 2028.

Many of the provisions in the bill reflect a desire to move away from using short sentences and towards managing offenders in the community, which has been broadly welcomed by commentators. However, this has led to concern among some that, while the measures might ease the strain on the prison estate, it would create significant new resource requirements for an already stretched probation service.

Where would the bill take effect?

The bill would extend to England and Wales, save for a small number of amendments that would extend to the whole of the United Kingdom.