Imposition of community and custodial guideline - Consultation

Overview

What is the Sentencing Council?

The Sentencing Council is the independent body responsible for developing sentencing guidelines which courts in England and Wales must follow when passing a sentence. The Council consults on its proposed guidelines before they come into force and on any proposed changes to existing guidelines.

What is this consultation about?

This consultation relates to amendments to the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline which are necessary as a result of the Sentencing Act 2026.

Why is there another consultation on the Imposition guideline?

The government passed the Sentencing Act 2026 which received Royal Assent on 22 January 2026. The Act made a number of important changes to the sentencing regime in England and Wales, as well as to the law governing release and supervision of those serving custodial sentences.

Some of the provisions in the Sentencing Act 2026 make changes to the areas of sentencing covered by the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline ('the Imposition guideline'), and therefore these changes need to be reflected through amendments to the guideline.

Some of these amendments have already been made to the Imposition guideline to align with the date when the corresponding provisions came into force. These are outlined in Updates to guidelines on the Sentencing Council’s website. The Council’s longstanding approach to managing minor and consequential amendments is set out in Our criteria for developing or revising guidelines on the Sentencing Council’s website. The amendments already made as a result of the Sentencing Act 2026 fell under Minor changes to guidelines in 1): “amendments made to reflect changes in legislation that will not have wider implications for the guideline(s)”. This approach is detailed in the Sentencing Council’s Policy for changing guidelines. The Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice have agreed that this approach remains appropriate within the new arrangements for publishing definitive guidelines.

However, other amendments to the Imposition guideline required by the Sentencing Act 2026, while still a consequence of the Act, are considered more complex than those that have already been made. These are the creation of four new requirements that can be attached to community and custodial sentences. These proposed amendments therefore require consultation.

The community requirement provisions of the Sentencing Act 2026 are not yet in effect. The Ministry of Justice currently estimates that three of these requirements will come into effect on 2 September 2026, with the fourth one (restriction zone) planned for later, likely in 2027. The Council has decided to consult on these proposed amendments to the Imposition guideline prior to these provisions coming into effect. It has made this decision so that the Imposition guideline will be able to be updated as soon as practicable after these provisions come into effect. If the Council did not consult on these amendments before the provisions come into effect, there would be a much longer period during which the guideline would not contain information on the new community requirements which the Council considers would not be helpful to sentencers.

The Council is also consulting on two other amendments to the Imposition guideline, one related to the Sentencing Act 2026 and one to aid clarification of existing guidance.

Responding to the consultation

Through this consultation process, the Council is seeking views on:

• The detail under each of the new community requirements created by the Sentencing Act 2026
• Proposed guidance on the exceptional circumstances to the presumption of suspending a custodial sentence of 12 months or less
• Amendments to aid clarity in the section on time remanded in custody or on qualifying curfew
• Amendments to the detail under Rehabilitation Activity Requirements (RARs)
• Anything else you think should be considered.

We would particularly like to hear from anyone who uses sentencing guidelines in their work or who has an interest in sentencing. We would also like to hear from individuals and organisations representing anyone who could be affected by the proposals including:

• victims and their families
• defendants and their families
• those under probation supervision or youth offending teams/supervision
• those with protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

In the following sections the proposed amendments are outlined and you will be asked to give your views. You can give your views by answering some or all of the questions below either by email to consultation@sentencingcouncil.gov.uk  or in this online consultation.

What else is happening as part of the consultation process?

This is a 12 week public consultation on specific amendments to the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline. The Council has not yet planned any consultation meetings but would be happy to arrange a meeting to discuss any of the issues raised if this would be helpful.

Once the results of the consultation have been considered, the Council will seek the consent of the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice to make updates to the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline as required by section 120 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. When consent is given, the amendments to the guideline will be published alongside a consultation response document setting out the consultation responses and the Council’s response to these.

Approach to the guidelines

In preparing the guideline, the Council has had regard to the purposes of sentencing and to its statutory duties.

Applicability of guidelines

The Imposition of community and custodial guideline only applies only to offenders aged 18 and older. General principles to be considered in the sentencing of children and young people are set out in the Sentencing children and young people guideline.