MoJ announces major sentencing reforms to address prison capacity crisis
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), led by Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, has announced significant reforms to tackle the prison capacity crisis and enhance public safety. These measures follow recommendations from the Independent Sentencing Review led by former Justice Secretary, David Gauke. The reforms introduce an ‘earned progression model’ in which prisoners must demonstrate good behaviour to secure an earlier release. Under the new system, prisoners on standard determinate sentences must serve at least one-third of their sentence before earning the possibility of early release, with those on sentences for more serious offences required to serve at least half their term. There will be no automatic release for those who misbehave; rather, individuals must engage in constructive activities such as education and employment to reduce in-prison violence and lower crime, with the potential for the worst behaved offenders to remain incarcerated for longer than the typical release range of 33% to 50% of their sentence. Additionally, the reforms include a £4.7bn prison expansion programme and a 45% increase in probation funding, raising it to £700m by the 2028 to 2029 period.