The Ministry of Justice has made the Sentencing Act 2026 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/402), signed on 13 April 2026. The instrument brings into force specified provisions of the Sentencing Act 2026 on 11 May 2026 and 1 June 2026, and extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to legislation published on legislation.gov.uk.
From 11 May 2026, section 21 of the Act commences, placing a duty on the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on prison capacity and repealing a duplicative reporting duty in section 5 of the Prison Act 1952. On the same date, section 34 and Schedule 5 take effect, repealing provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and the Sentencing Act 2020 that relate to supervision after the end of a sentence, as set out in the instrument’s explanatory note.
Section 36 also starts on 11 May 2026. It removes the maximum 12‑month period for completing hours imposed under an unpaid work requirement. In practice, this enables courts and probation practitioners to schedule delivery of unpaid work across a longer period, with completion tied to the total hours ordered.
Sections 38 and 39 commence on 11 May 2026 and introduce a new process for ending community orders and the supervision period of suspended sentence orders. Under the Act, these orders will terminate on completion of all court‑ordered requirements and the offender’s sentence plan, bringing legal closure into line with practical completion.
From 1 June 2026, section 42 comes into force. It amends section 31 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 to allow individuals serving imprisonment for public protection (IPP) or detention for public protection (DPP) sentences to request that the Secretary of State refer their case to the Parole Board for licence termination. The section also reduces the qualifying period for IPP referrals, providing an earlier opportunity for licence termination and aligning the IPP framework with DPP.
For sentencing practice, the immediate changes sit with community penalties. Orders containing unpaid work no longer need to compress delivery into a 12‑month window, and both community orders and the supervision element of suspended sentence orders now conclude when all requirements and the sentence plan are complete. Sentencers should ensure reasons and expectations are recorded clearly in sentencing remarks and order documentation to support case management.
For prisons policy, the new annual capacity report consolidates duties by replacing the overlapping requirement in the Prison Act 1952. Responsibility sits with the Secretary of State to publish the report each year, creating a single statutory point of reference for capacity data.
For IPP and DPP licence holders, the route to seek licence termination is clarified in statute from 1 June 2026. Eligible licensees may ask the Secretary of State to refer their case to the Parole Board; any decision on termination remains for the Parole Board following that referral.
The Ministry of Justice notes that no impact assessment accompanies SI 2026/402, stating no impact, or no significant impact, on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen. Key operational dates are therefore 11 May 2026 for the community order, unpaid work, supervision and reporting provisions, and 1 June 2026 for the IPP/DPP licence referral changes.