The Sentencing Council has made consequential amendments to three sentencing guidelines, following provisions in the Sentencing Act 2026, which came into effect on 22 March 2026. These include: (1) the introduction of a presumption to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less for offenders convicted on or after 22 March 2026; (2) an increase in the deferment period for suspended sentences from 6 to 12 months and (3) an amendment to the purposes of sentencing to include the protection of victims of crime within the broader objective of public protection, among others. The affected guidelines include: (1) the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline; (2) the General Guideline: overarching principles and (3) the Sentencing children and young people guideline.

The Sentencing Council has amended several guidelines addressing case law developments and legislative corrections. Following the Court of Appeal judgment in R v Corey Morgan [2026] EWCA Crim 886, the imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline has been updated. The Court of Appeal clarified the presumption of suspension under section 277A of the Sentencing Act 2020 (SA 2020). Exceptional circumstances are no longer listed as a standalone exemption to the presumption. Instead, where a court finds exceptional circumstances justifying non-suspension, it must impose an immediate custodial sentence without consulting the suspension factors table. Where other statutory exemptions apply, courts continue to weigh those factors as before. Amendments to section 133 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (MCA 1980) corrected the aggregate sentencing cap for summary offences. The maximum aggregate sentence is now the highest maximum of a single offence rather than a fixed six months. The reduction in sentence for a guilty plea and sentencing children and young people guidelines were updated accordingly. Section 282(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003), as amended by the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (JRCA 2022), confirms that either way offences carry a 12-month summary maximum.

The Sentencing Council has amended sentencing guidelines and tools to reflect provisions of the Sentencing Act 2026 that came into force on 1 October 2026. The changes replace the ‘rehabilitation activity requirement’ with a ‘probation requirement’. Courts no longer specify the maximum number of rehabilitation activity days. Instead, the Probation Service will assess offenders after sentencing and prepare a tailored sentence plan based on their risks and needs. The requirement must be completed within the supervision period. Three new requirements also came into force, allowing courts to prohibit driving, attendance at public events and entry to drinking establishments under community or suspended sentence orders. Guidance on the new requirements will be published once the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice give their consent.

The Sentencing Council has amended its sentencing guidelines to reflect a new duty requiring courts to state in open court when they consider that an offence involved domestic abuse carried out by the offender. The duty took effect on 5 October 2026 under section 6(1) of the Sentencing Act 2026, which inserted section 56A into the Sentencing Code. The amendments update the Reasons step in all guidelines, guidance on domestic abuse aggravating factors and relevant cross-references. The Domestic abuse overarching principles guideline has also been updated to explain the duty. Domestic abuse has the same meaning as in sections 1 and 2 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

The Sentencing Council has announced that the amendments made to a number of sentencing guidelines, which apply to both magistrates’ court and Crown Court, are effective from 1 April 2024.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on proposed amendments to the imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline required by the Sentencing Act 2026, which introduced significant changes to the sentencing regime and the law governing the release and supervision of custodial sentences in England and Wales. The proposed amendments primarily reflect the creation of four new requirements that can be attached to community and custodial sentences, with the Council seeking views on the detail of each new community requirement, proposed guidance on the exceptional circumstances that may displace the presumption of suspending a custodial sentence of 12 months or less, amendments intended to clarify the treatment of time spent on remand in custody or on a qualifying curfew, revisions to the detail relating to Rehabilitation Activity Requirements (RARs) and any other matters respondents consider relevant. The consultation closes on 2 September 2026.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on draft sentencing guidelines for the immigration offence of endangering another person during a sea crossing to the United Kingdom, which was introduced by section 21 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, amending section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971 and is re-consulting on revised draft guidelines for the offences of assisting unlawful immigration to the UK and helping asylum seekers to enter the UK. The Council states that the guidelines are intended to provide courts with a consistent approach to sentencing immigration offences, reflecting legislative changes, revisions made following its 2024 consultation and recent case law. It is seeking views on the proposed culpability and harm factors, sentencing ranges, aggravating and mitigating factors, and whether the draft guidelines appropriately address sentencing disparity, equality and diversity, and other relevant issues. The consultation closes on 30 September 2026.

The Sentencing Council has launched its sixth annual miscellaneous amendments consultation, proposing changes to sentencing guidelines for magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court to improve clarity and consistency and reflect developments in legislation and case law. Proposals include increasing the starting point for using a mobile phone while driving a goods vehicle from a Band B fine to a Band C fine, introducing new aggravating and mitigating factors for grooming and exploitation and clarifying that, where a sentence contains more than one punitive element, the guilty plea reduction should apply to each. The Council also proposes guidance on domestic abuse protection orders on conviction ahead of their expected national rollout from November 2026, election disqualification orders under the Elections Act 2022 (EA 2022) and removal of racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage from the under-£5,000 criminal damage guideline following Campbell v R [2026] EWCA Crim 51. Proposals relevant primarily to the Crown Court include clarifying that slavery and trafficking reparation orders cover physical and psychological harm as well as financial loss and adding further guidance on dangerousness. The consultation closes on 2 December 2026.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on proposed sentencing guidelines covering housing offences. The consultation sets out six draft guidelines: two covering unlawful eviction of occupier and unlawful harassment of occupier offences, and four covering offences related to houses in multiple occupation and housing standards. The guidelines would represent the first sentencing guidance for courts on housing offences. The consultation is open to all members of the public and judiciary, legal practitioners and individuals with an interest in criminal justice or the private rented sector and closes on 9 April 2026.

The Sentencing Council has published a consultation on six new sentencing guidelines for immigration offences in England and Wales. The consultation follows changes to the Immigration Act 1971. The draft guidelines which apply to adult offenders only and relate to offences including assisting illegal entry or arrival, using deception to enter or remain in the UK, knowingly entering the UK illegally, breaching a deportation order or possessing false identity documents. The Sentencing Council is seeking views on factors that could make any of the listed offences more or less serious; additional factors that could influence a sentence; types and lengths of sentences that should be passed and any other relevant information that should be considered. The consultation closes on 12 June 2024.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed Strategic Objectives 2027–2030, seeking views on the priorities that should guide its work as its current strategy comes to an end. The proposed objectives focus on developing and revising sentencing guidelines, strengthening evidence-based decision-making through analysis and research, fulfilling the Council's Public Sector Equality Duty and promoting public understanding of sentencing. The Council states that, with sentencing guidelines now covering most high-volume offences, its future work will place greater emphasis on evaluating, maintaining and updating existing guidelines, while also developing new guidelines for emerging offences, including those involving new technologies, responding to legislative changes and continuing to monitor the impact of guidelines on sentencing practice. The consultation closes on 30 October 2026.The Sentencing Council has also published its annual report for 2025–2026, reviewing its work during the reporting year, including the development, consultation, evaluation and revision of sentencing guidelines, analysis and research to support evidence-based sentencing, consideration of equality and diversity issues, and initiatives to improve public understanding of sentencing. The report also outlines the Council's ongoing programme of guideline development, consultations and evaluations, together with its planned future work.

The Sentencing Council has introduced new guidance on ancillary orders and revised careless driving sentencing guidelines, effective 1 July 2025. The changes include guidance for six ancillary orders, now accessible within relevant sentencing guidelines and extended to Crown Court users. The careless driving guideline has been updated to align culpability factors with death and serious injury by careless driving offences and harm factors with dangerous driving guidelines. The amendments follow the Council's 2024 miscellaneous amendments consultation and aim to provide more consistent sentencing guidance.