Key Facts

• The adult male prison estate was running at over 99% capacity for 18 months before September.
• SDS40 reduces the eligible Standard Determinate Sentence release point from 50% to 40%, with exclusions for serious violent offences, sex offences, and certain domestic abuse-connected offences.
• The previous government's End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme released over 10,000 offenders early.
• SDS40 enabled an increase in magistrates' court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months maximum custodial for a single triable either way offence.
• The prison build programme will deliver 14,000 places through the construction of four new prisons and expansion/refurbishment of existing facilities.
• A 10-year capacity strategy will be published later in the year.
• New prison demand would require building three mega-jails a year to keep up with rising population.
• An Independent Review of Sentencing is being chaired by David Gauke, focusing on updating sentencing frameworks and preventing future emergencies.
• The government aims to fund at least 1,000 additional trainee probation officers by March 2025.