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Changes to automatic prisoner release dates in England and Wales

People serving prison sentences are usually released partway through their sentence, and they serve the rest in the community under the supervision of the probation service.

The changes made by the Sentencing Act 2026 will mean that most prisoners serving the most common type of prison sentence (a fixed, standard determinate sentence) will be automatically released earlier than they would otherwise have been. The release point for these prisoners will move from 40% or half of their custodial term to one third for some prisoners and from two thirds to half for others.

The changes were due to be brought into force from September 2026 but were paused while the government reviewed the policy. Following the review, the changes are now due to come into force on 1 October 2026 and will not apply to those convicted of certain offences, including rape and some child sexual and grooming offences.

Why are prisoners released before the end of their sentence?

When a person in England and Wales is given a sentence of imprisonment for a period of time, they will not usually spend the whole of that period in prison. Legislation allows for prisoners to be released partway through their sentence to serve the rest of their sentence in the community; this is called being released ‘on licence’. If an offender breaches their licence conditions (such as by committing a crime or failing to keep in touch with their probation officer) they can be recalled to prison.  

The law on the point at which a prisoner can be released and whether the Parole Board is involved has changed over the years. Most recently the Sentencing Act 2026 made changes to the automatic release point for certain offenders serving standard determinate sentences.

Legislation in this area is complex and the information below provides only a brief summary of the position in England and Wales for adult offenders.

Changes to release made by the Sentencing Act 2026

The most common type of prison sentence is a standard determinate sentence (SDS) which has a fixed length. Once the changes made by the Sentencing Act 2026 are in force, most prisoners serving an SDS will be automatically released at the one third point of their sentence. Currently these prisoners are automatically released at the 40% point (under measures often referred to as SDS40) or the halfway point. The usual release point used to be halfway, but in late 2024 the government changed it to 40% for most people serving an SDS to reduce pressure in the prison system; it remained halfway for some prisoners.

Prisoners sentenced to an SDS of four years or more for certain violent or sexual offences will be automatically released at the halfway point. Currently these prisoners are automatically released at the two thirds point.

Following a review undertaken when Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, the government announced the changes to release points will not apply to those who have been convicted of rape, serious child sex offences and other grooming offences. The government published a list of the excluded offences. These exclusions are discussed below.

The changes to release made by the 2026 act do not affect prisoners serving other types of prison sentence, including extended determinate sentences and life sentences. Release arrangements for these sentences are unchanged.

Concerns around earlier release and certain offences

During the passage of the bill that became the 2026 act, concerns were raised that the changes would apply to prisoners convicted of serious sexual and violent offences who are serving SDSs. The Conservative MP Keiran Mullan noted that the SDS40 releases had excluded serious violent offences, sexual offences and offences linked to domestic violence, keeping their release point at halfway, whereas the bill did not exclude them from its changes.

Keiran Mullan stated that no victims’ representatives supported the release element of the bill. The opposition tabled an amendment (amendment 24) to disapply the changes for those convicted of such offences, which was debated during committee of the whole House. The amendment was voted on and defeated 307 votes to 182.

These concerns continued after the bill was passed. An opposition day debate took place on 7 July to consider a motion that the government should exempt any offender who has been convicted of a sexual offence against an adult or a child. The opposition also tabled a presentation bill seeking to restrict the earlier release of prisoners convicted of specified offences.

MPs also raised concerns about the pressures the releases would place on the probation service, which is already under severe strain with high workloads.

On 6 July 2026, the Victims Commissioner and Domestic Abuse Commissioner wrote to ministers asking them to delay the changes to allow for more communication with victims and for measures to be put in place to keep them safe. Victims who received letters informing them of potential changes in release dates expressed despair and concerns about their safety.

Reports in the media highlighted some high-profile cases where the changes would mean an earlier release, including those imprisoned for offences committed as part of grooming gangs and two of the men who killed PC Andrew Harper. Victims and their families expressed their feelings of being insulted and let down. Some wrote to MPs.

The government (under Keir Starmer) responded that the most dangerous offenders, those who do not receive SDSs, will not be affected. It has pointed  to the need to address the crisis of prison capacity to protect public safety and the lack of prison places built by the previous government. The government has also pointed to measures in place to monitor and supervise those released and the possibility of recall to prison.

Pause for review of policy

On 25 July 2026 the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said there would be an urgent review of the changes and no prisoners would be released early under the policy while it was ongoing. This “pause” was welcomed by victims and the Victims’ Commissioner.

Exclusion of some offences

On 3 August 2026 the government announced that the changes to release points would not apply to those convicted of certain offences, including rape and certain child sexual and grooming offences. The government has published a list of the excluded offences.

The changes to release points made by the Sentencing Act 2026 will still apply to all other offences where an SDS is imposed, including offences such as manslaughter and causing death by dangerous driving. Victims and families who had been campaigning for the exclusion of these offences said they were “devastated” that the changes made following the pause would not apply to these offences.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, criticised the decision not to exclude domestic abuse perpetrators. The Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, said that the exemptions did not go far enough but that she believed that this was as far as the government could be pushed, because of the prison capacity crisis. She said the additional time before implementation must be used to “urgently deliver the protections needed to keep victims and the public safe”.

The Prime Minister said that he wanted to exclude more offences but that this would have caused a collapse in the prison system, which would have put public safety at much greater risk. Speaking to the media, the Justice Secretary, Alex Norris, said about 1,000 fewer prisoners would be released than would have been the case without the exceptions. He acknowledged the harm caused to victims and families.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said the government’s changes did not go far enough.

It was reported on 6 August 2026 that the Prime Minister had ordered a further urgent review to identify any grooming gang members who would be eligible to be released earlier under the 2026 act changes. This followed concerns raised in the media and by the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, that the government had not excluded the offence of indecent assault. They noted that this offence has been used to charge people in relation to grooming that took place before specific grooming offences were introduced and that prisoners convicted of this offence would be eligible for earlier release.

Coming into force

The Justice Secretary has said the changes made by the 2026 act will now come into force from 1 October 2026 (rather than 2 September) and those already in prison who are eligible will be released in tranches. The government has said “the number of individuals released in each tranche will depend on the makeup of the prison population, which will continue to evolve between now and implementation”.

Earned progression and added days

During the passage of the bill that became the 2026 act, the government referred to an “earned progression model” for prisoners serving SDSs. This had been recommended by the Independent Sentencing Review conducted by former Justice Secretary David Gauke.

This review had envisaged that people serving an SDS would be released at the one third point if they had engaged constructively with the prison regime. During the passage of the bill the opposition disputed the government’s use of the term “earned progression”, noting that “prisoners will actively need to break prison rules to run the risk of losing early release”. The government has said further details on how a prisoner will gain credit will be set out in due course.

Days can be added to a prisoner’s sentence if they are found to have breached prison rules following a process of independent adjudication. Where days are added the release point is amended. This will continue to be the case following the changes made by the 2026 act. The government has recently increased the maximum number of days that can be added to a sentence through the independent adjudications process from 42 to 84.

After release

People serving an SDS who are released from prison will be supervised by the probation service. The government said, during the passage of the bill, that in the second part of their sentence (immediately following their release from prison) a person serving an SDS will be subject to intense supervision. It said the highest risk offenders will continue to be supervised in the final stage of their sentence but for all other offenders there will be no active probation supervision in the final stage of the sentence.

The person sentenced will remain under licence until the end of their sentence which will require them to comply with the conditions of their licence. There are standard conditions, and additional conditions that can be imposed if required in the particular case, for example, prohibiting offenders from contacting certain people or visiting certain places. Conditions could include electronic monitoring (tagging) and new restrictive licence conditions introduced by the 2026 act, for example prohibiting people from driving or attending pubs clubs or bars and restriction zones. The government has announced an expansion in the use of tagging. People who breach the conditions of their licence can be returned (recalled) to prison.

When announcing the exclusion of certain offences on 4 August 2026, the government said offenders convicted of rape or serious child sex offences would be subject to stronger surveillance on release, to include GPS monitoring for 12 months. The government also announced a new national helpline for victims affected by the changes which will be available by October.