Regulation 2 Description of persons specified to be released early from prison

(1)

A person who falls within the description of persons specified in paragraph (2) is to be released early from prison in accordance with regulation 3.

(2)

The class of persons to be released early are any person who—

(a)

falls within paragraphs (3) to (7), and

(b)

does not fall within paragraph (8).

(3)

A person falls within this paragraph if—

(a)

the person is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention on 20 October 2025,

(b)

the sentence is for a period of less than four years, and

(c)

the person is due to be released under sections 1(1) or 7(1)(a)^f1 of the 1993 Act within the 180 days following the date on which these Regulations come into force.

(4)

A person falls within this paragraph if—

(a)

the person is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention on 15 December 2025,

(b)

the sentence is for a period of less than four years, and

(c)

the person is due to be released under sections 1(1) or 7(1)(a) of the 1993 Act within the 180 days following 26 January 2026.

(5)

A person falls within this paragraph if—

(a)

the person is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention on 30 January 2026,

(b)

the sentence is for a period of less than four years, and

(c)

the person is due to be released under sections 1(1) or 7(1)(a) of the 1993 Act within the 180 days following 23 February 2026.

(6)

A person falls within this paragraph if—

(a)

the person is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention on 27 February 2026,

(b)

the sentence is for a period of less than four years, and

(c)

the person is due to be released under sections 1(1) or 7(1)(a) of the 1993 Act within the 180 days following 23 March 2026.

(7)

A person falls within this paragraph if—

(a)

the person is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention on 27 March 2026,

(b)

the sentence is for a period of less than four years, and

(c)

the person is due to be released under sections 1(1) or 7(1)(a) of the 1993 Act within the 180 days following 27 April 2026.

(8)

A person falls within this paragraph if—

(a)

subject to regulation 4, the person has served a sentence of imprisonment or detention for an offence that was aggravated as described in section 1(1)(a) of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016^f2, which was recorded as such under section 1(5)(b) of that Act and the conviction for which is not spent for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974^f3 on the date they would otherwise be released in accordance with regulation 3(6) to (12),

(b)

subject to regulation 4, the person has served a sentence of imprisonment or detention for an offence under section 1(1) of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018^f4 and the conviction for which is not spent for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 on the date they would otherwise be released in accordance with regulation 3(6) to (12),

(c)

the person is the subject of a non-harassment order imposed under section 234A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995^f5 or section 8 or 8A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997^f6, and

(d)

the person has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment or detention on or after 28 March 2026.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: Section 7(1)(a) was amended by paragraph 86(2) and (5) of schedule 4 of the Criminal Procedure (Consequential Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1995 (c. 40) and section 2(2)(a) of the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Act 2025 (asp 1).
f2: 2016 asp 22.
f3: 1974 c. 53.
f4: 2018 asp 5.
f5: 1995 c. 46. Section 234A was inserted by section 11 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (c. 40) and was amended by schedule 3 of the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997 (c. 48), section 49 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 7), section 15 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13), paragraph 3 of schedule 2 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 1) and section 5 of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 22).
f6: 1997 c. 40. Section 8 was amended by schedule 2 of the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011 (asp 7) and section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2011 (asp 13) (“the 2011 Act”). Section 8A was inserted by the 2011 Act.