Explanatory note

The Sentencing Act 2020, as amended by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, makes provision for special procedures to apply to community orders and suspended sentence orders in certain cases to be described in regulations. The Sentencing Act 2020 (Special Procedures for Community and Suspended Sentence Orders) Regulations 2023 (the “2023 Regulations”) and the Sentencing Act 2020 (Special Procedures for Community and Suspended Sentence Orders) Regulations 2024 (the “2024 Regulations”) describe certain such cases (“specified cases”).

In accordance with section 395A(4) of the Sentencing Act 2020, when the 2023 Regulations and 2024 Regulations were made, they each provided that specified cases qualify for special procedures only if the community or suspended sentence order was made within a period of 18 months beginning on the day the regulations came into force. The Sentencing Act (Special Procedures for Community and Suspended Sentence Orders) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 subsequently amended the 2023 Regulations to provide that a specified case qualified for special procedures if the order was made within a period of 30 (rather than 18) months after the 2023 Regulations came into force. The 2024 Regulations have not, prior to these Regulations, been amended.

The 2023 Regulations came into force on 26th June 2023 and, therefore, in the absence of further legislation, specified cases would have ceased to qualify for special procedures after 25th December 2025. The 2024 Regulations came into force on 14th June 2024 and, therefore, in the absence of further legislation, specified cases would have ceased to qualify for special procedures after 13th December 2025.

These Regulations amend both the 2023 Regulations and 2024 Regulations to provide that specified cases will continue to qualify for special procedures if the community or suspended sentence order is made on, or before, 31st March 2029.