Introduction

Today (22 May 2025) could, and should, be a real line-in-the-sand moment for reform of our criminal justice system, offering a genuine opportunity for the Government to fundamentally reshape how the system works. The Sentencing Review’s recommendations are hugely welcome, particularly in their recognition of the voluntary sector’s central role in helping people at every stage of the criminal justice system. Much of what has been recommended aligns with what the sector has been advocating for, for many years.

We are delighted that the role, and value, of the sector has been recognised, and ongoing collaboration will be crucial in order to support the implementation of the Review’s recommendations. This must include the embedding of genuine partnership working between statutory bodies and the voluntary sector, at every level of government. We look forward to supporting the sector to engage with the opportunities to come.

The core recommendations of the Review are certainly exciting. Reducing the size of the prison population by significantly curtailing short sentences, investing in probation and community justice services, and focusing more attention and resources on addressing need in the community are laudable and welcome goals. But, to make a success of the Sentencing Review, the appropriate resources must be attached to the recommended measures, and we will await the conclusion of the Comprehensive Spending Review with interest. It is also pleasing to see accountability mechanisms within the recommendations, that should lead to the avoidance of a prison capacity crisis in the future. In particular, the recommendation of a ministerial statement on the impact on prison capacity of any government announcement.

We already know that the demand for voluntary sector services in the community is increasing, and it is important that this is acknowledged when funding decisions are being made. We also know that the current economic climate is a difficult one, but change, and resources, are needed at each stage of the criminal justice process.

Context

For decades, under successive governments, we have been sending too many people to prison on ever-increasing sentences – something described by David Gauke as ‘penal populism.’ The Review’s recommendation to launch a public awareness campaign on sentencing would be a welcome addition to the current debate.

The current approach to penal policy has been to the detriment of genuine rehabilitative efforts, that address the root causes of why so many people have ended up in prison in the first instance. Overcrowded and understaffed prisons have resulted in limited regimes, creating barriers to engagement in prison activities that support effective reintegration into the community.

In the case of women, this approach has long been recognised as counter-productive, with improved access to health and wellbeing, drug treatment and family support services more likely to reduce reoffending.

Lord Timpson has consistently reiterated his stance on ‘following the evidence of what works’, and the package of measures that have been recommended seem to follow this approach. This includes the recommendation for an external advisory board, focused on ‘what works’ in relation to sentencing’; an expansion in the number of Intensive Supervision Courts; and the use of short, custodial sentences only in exceptional circumstances – a policy long called for by the voluntary sector.

This is an opportunity that mustn’t be wasted. Policy solutions, informed by the evidence of what works, is the way forward. We can’t afford any more sticking plasters on what has been a massive, ongoing public policy failure.

The recommendations

Revisiting the purposing of sentencing:

• Amend the statutory purposes of sentencing to emphasise the importance of protecting victims and reducing crime

Strengthening alternatives to custody in the community:

• Revise the sentencing framework to ensure sentencers can take full advantage of the flexibility of community sentencing, including financial penalties and ancillary orders
• Revise sentencing guidelines and probation frameworks to broaden the scope of punishment within community orders
• Increase investment in providers of Community Sentence Treatment Requirements to increase accessibility for offenders with substance misuse or mental health issues
• Simplify and strengthen community orders by abolishing the Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and introducing a broader Probation Requirement

Reducing reliance on custody:

• Legislate to ensure short custodial sentences are only used in exceptional circumstances
• Extend the upper limit of Suspended Sentence Orders to custodial sentences of up to three years
• Extend the deferred sentencing period to 12 months
• Encourage the use of deferred sentences for low-risk offenders with needs that can be addressed in the community
• The Sentencing Council should issue guidance on the use of deferred sentencing
• Collect and publish data on deferred sentencing
• Lengthen Serious Crime Prevention Orders to allow them to apply for the duration of an offender’s time in custody as well as for five years after release
• Consider strengthening confiscation orders to ensure that the law can be applied fairly in practice
• Consider establishing a criminal receivership scheme, including suspended receivership.

Incentivising progression from custody to community:

• Introduce an “earned progression” model for those serving standard determinate sentences
• Introduce an “earned progression” model for those serving extended determinate sentences
• Introduce a new model for recall for those serving standard determinate sentences, with stricter criteria and thresholds
• Increase and tailor the use of open conditions where suitable for offenders
• Improve investment in and access to accommodation in the community for offenders leaving prison and those serving sentences in the community.

Taking a victim-centred approach:

• Launch a public awareness campaign on sentencing
• Consider how to improve transparency about the length of time an offender spends in custody
• Review the support and services available to victims and witnesses, addressing barriers to effective provision of information and support
• Continue the provision of free copies of judge’s sentencing remarks to victims of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences
• Improve identification of perpetrators of domestic abuse at sentencing to ensure the right interventions are in place to manage offenders
• Expand provision of Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts
• Improve training for criminal justice practitioners and the judiciary on violence against women and girls to inform appropriate sentencing and offender management
• Equip the Probation Service with sufficient resources to manage perpetrators of violence against women and girls, including for electronic monitoring.

Targeted approach to different groups:

• Expand the availability of Intensive Supervision Courts to address prolific offending
• Provide more sustainable and long-term funding to Women’s Centres
• Ensure female offenders receive appropriate support by (1) expanding the use of liaison and diversion and (2) considering a women’s specific pathway as part of Drug and Alcohol treatment requirements
• Collect and publish data on the use of prison as a “place of safety”
• Commission a study of the impact and consequences of the Assault on Emergency Workers legislation
• Increase the use of Early Release on Compassionate Grounds for suitable older offenders
• Agree a strategy to manage older offenders’ complex health needs
• Facilitate earlier removal of Foreign National Offenders
• Build a comprehensive evidence base around the use of chemical suppression for sex offenders and explore options for continued funding of services in this area
• Continue to monitor emerging medications to treat drug and alcohol dependency.

The role of the probation service:

• Increase investment in the Probation Service to support capacity and resilience
• Increase funding available for the third sector to support the Probation Service to manage offenders in the community and enable increased commissioning of local organisations
• Expand the use of the third sector to support offenders on community sentences and licence, to help the Probation Service prioritise resource and improve outcomes for offenders
• Increase the use of proven technologies in the Probation Service, to enable more meaningful engagement between practitioners and offenders on probation.

The role of technology:

• Use existing technology more effectively to protect the public and improve rehabilitation
• Invest in rapid expansion of successful pilots in technology used as part of offender supervision
• Require all technology developed for offender management to be integrated with behavioural science
• Improve data-sharing across agencies working with the Probation Service
• Further collaborate with industry on research and development to explore new technologies for service transformation, including advanced AI.

Long-term considerations for a sustainable prison system:

• Introduce an external advisory body
• Introduce a requirement for Ministers to make a statement to Parliament during the introduction of a new Bill on its impact on prison demand.

The Government's response

The Ministry of Justice has published a press release detailing the Lord Chancellor's announcement in the House of Commons, responding to the Review. The Lord Chancellor has accepted the majority of the Review's recommendations in principle. One recommendation that has been rejected is for an earned progression model for people serving Extended Determinate Sentences. 

The Lord Chancellor also stated she will go further than the Review's recommendations in certain areas, including through an expansion of unpaid work. 

What comes next?

Many of the recommendations contained within the Review require funding. The next stage in the process will therefore be confirmation of departmental budgets as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which we expect to be confirmed in June. 

To support the Review’s findings, we will be facilitating opportunities for the sector to engage on any next steps and working directly with officials implementing the reforms across the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service. We want to gather feedback on the recommendations, particularly those that the sector supports, as well as views on how to make a success of any reforms. This is particularly important given the centrality of the voluntary sector in the final report, and the role that the sector will play within a reformed system. We have a real opportunity to shape how these reforms impact on the people we are here to serve and Clinks looks forward to working with organisations across the sector to make the most of this chance for real change. 

Please look out across our digital channels for news of engagement opportunities. In the meantime, for any Sentencing Review-related queries, contact the team on policy@clinks.org

We have also published a full response which provides a detailed analysis of the context within which the Independent Sentencing Review was commissioned, as well as an exploration of its core recommendations.