Briefing on Sentencing Bill: Second Reading

The Sentencing Bill has been introduced as a response to the Independent Sentencing Review and the recommendations published in its final report.

The legislation is complex, particularly as regards sentencing and the management of individuals on release, and making prison regimes more central to the operation of sentencing in a new model of ‘earned progression’ may lead to unintended consequences if not carefully implemented. There is a danger that people will be set up to fail in custody and on release, and that the reduction in demand for prison places the Ministry of Justice envisages may not be delivered in its entirety. 

Moreover, while the government is right to address the prison capacity crisis by attempting to manage demand on prison places, the Bill does not go far enough to create a safe and sustainable system. Even if all the proposals in the Bill are effective, the prison system in England and Wales will face a similar capacity crisis in a few years’ time. Overcrowding and conditions in prisons will continue to deteriorate from an extremely poor current baseline. The Ministry of Justice’s own Impact Assessment of the legislation states: 

All reduction for prison demand from these measures is assumed to be filled by new offenders as the prison population is expected to grow in line with increasing supply. It is expected that the additional prison places being built by the government will be filled (for example, after these reforms it is expected there will be around 2,000 more people in prison by May 2029 compared to current levels). As such, it is assumed there are no prison place savings from these measures.

While there are some welcome proposals contained with the legislation, particularly around restricting the use of short custodial sentences and on Bail Act reform, this Sentencing Bill before Parliament ultimately ducks the primary reason prison numbers will continue to grow at unsustainable levels over the coming years: sentence inflation.

Read the full briefing here.