The Ministry of Justice has made the Sentencing Act 2026 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/86), setting start dates for reforms to bail and recall in England and Wales. Made on 2 February 2026, this is the first commencement instrument under the Sentencing Act 2026.
Regulation 2 brings section 44 of the Sentencing Act 2026 into force on 22 March 2026. This provision amends the Bail Act 1976 by revising the ‘no real prospect’ test, updating the conditions for imposing electronic monitoring, and restating the statutory factors that may be relevant to bail decisions.
Regulations 3 and 4 commence sections 30 to 33 and Schedule 4 on 31 March 2026, amending the Criminal Justice Act 2003 recall framework. For adults serving standard determinate sentences, recall will result in 56 days in custody unless excluded; at the end of that period, save in exceptional circumstances, the person will be re‑released on licence.
The reforms identify circumstances where automatic re‑release after recall does not apply. Offences listed in Schedule 4 to the 2026 Act are excluded from eligibility under section 255BA of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, requiring case checks against the schedule during recall and pre‑release decisions.
Section 32(4) takes effect on 31 March 2026 in all cases. The remainder of the recall provisions-sections 30, 31, 32(1) to (3), 33 and Schedule 4-apply on a transitional basis for individuals recalled before 31 March 2026 who remain detained immediately before that date.
For those transitional cases, the reforms apply on a ‘relevant day’ linked to the length of the ‘relevant sentence’. The ‘relevant sentence’ means the sentence for which the person was recalled or, if more than one concurrent sentence applies, the longest of them.
Under the phasing schedule, those with a relevant sentence of less than 1702 days fall under the new regime from 31 March 2026. Where the relevant sentence is greater than 1701 days and less than 2129 days the date is 14 April; greater than 2128 and less than 2577 is 21 April; greater than 2576 and less than 3305 is 28 April; greater than 3304 and less than 4439 is 5 May; and where the relevant sentence exceeds 4438 days the date is 12 May 2026.
A further timing rule applies where detention follows a Parole Board decision, after a reference under section 255C(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, that the person is unsuitable for release. In such cases, commencement for that individual is the later of the relevant day or the day after the end of a 56‑day period beginning with the day after the decision is served on the Secretary of State.
The 2026 Act preserves the previous recall model, as it stood before the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Suitability for Fixed Term Recall) Order 2025, for those sentenced as children to a standard determinate sentence under section 250 of the Sentencing Code or historically under section 91 of the Power of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, where they are not also serving an adult determinate sentence.
For courts, prosecutors and defence teams, the Bail Act amendments require updated bail submissions, risk assessments and electronic monitoring protocols before 22 March. For prisons and probation, case management systems should implement the 56‑day release point from 31 March, with clear flags for Schedule 4 exclusions and for transitional cohorts.
No separate impact assessment accompanies this statutory instrument. An impact assessment for the Sentencing Act 2026 has been published by Parliament, and the Ministry of Justice lists contact details at 102 Petty France, London SW1H 9AJ.