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Prisoners' Release

Answer

First, I would like to express my sincere sympathy with all victims of these appalling crimes. This Government inherited a prisons system days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Our landmark Sentencing Act 2026 will now deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis we inherited, including through the progression model which will help ensure there are always enough places for the courts to be able to send people to custody in order to keep the public safe. The worst thing for victims would be running out of prison space and not being able to lock up dangerous offenders.

The progression model amends release points for offenders on Standard Determinate Sentences. Over 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences like extended Determinate Sentences or life sentences will be unaffected by these reforms and will be kept in prison for as long as they are now.

Public protection and victims’ interests were central considerations throughout the development of the Sentencing Act 2026 reforms. That is why, once released, offenders will be managed under strict licence conditions in the community.

All offenders will remain on licence until the end of their sentence, and where an offender breaches their licence conditions, probation has a full suite of options available, including recall to custody. We are also introducing restriction zones for the most serious sexual and violent offenders where appropriate, enforced through electronic monitoring. The Government is investing up to £700 million in probation and community services by 2028/29, including recruiting at least 1,300 additional trainee probation officers and expanding tagging capabilities, to ensure the Probation Service has the capacity and tools it needs to manage offenders safely in the community.

Victims who are eligible for and have opted into the Victim Contact Scheme will continue to be notified of an offender’s release and may make representations regarding licence conditions, including exclusion zones and non-contact conditions.

It is not possible to estimate sufficiently accurately the number of future releases because of the uncertainty of the volume of eligible offenders who will be sentenced to prison in the near future nor can we estimate any added days for bad behaviour committed which will determine their release point. The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes Accredited Official Statistics on prisoner releases as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

18603

Session

2026-27

Grouped for answer

Yes

Subjects

Domestic abuse Prisoners' release Offences against children Risk assessment Sexual offences

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk