# The Sentencing Act 2020 (Special Procedures for Community and Suspended Sentence Orders) Regulations 2026 S.I. 2026/993 · made 7 September 2026 The Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), as amended by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (c. 32), makes provision for special procedures to apply to community orders and suspended sentence orders in certain cases. Made under: Sentencing Act 2020 (Section 395A) PDFs: Printed copy https://openlegislation.uk/sentencing-act-2020-special-procedures-for-community-and-suspended-sentence-orders-regulations-2026/pdf/uksi_20260993_en.pdf; UK Explanatory Memorandum https://openlegislation.uk/sentencing-act-2020-special-procedures-for-community-and-suspended-sentence-orders-regulations-2026/pdf/uksiem_20260993_en_001.pdf ## Introductory text CRIMINAL LAW, ENGLAND AND WALES Made 7th September 2026 Laid before Parliament 9th September 2026 Coming into force 5th October 2026 The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 395A(1), (3), (4) and (5) of the Sentencing Act 2020. ## 1 Citation, commencement and extent (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Sentencing Act 2020 (Special Procedures for Community and Suspended Sentence Orders) Regulations 2026. (2) These Regulations come into force on 5th October 2026. (3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales. ## 2 Special procedures for community and suspended sentence orders A community order or suspended sentence order qualifies for special procedures for the purposes of a relevant provision if the following four conditions are met. ## 3 The first condition is that the proposed order is made within the period beginning with the day on which these Regulations come into force and ending with 5th April 2028. ## 4 The second condition is that the court making the order is— (a) Leeds Magistrates’ Court, (b) Liverpool Magistrates’ Court, (c) North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, or (d) South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court. ## 5 The third condition is that the person who would be subject to the proposed order is— (a) a person aged 18 or over at the date of conviction of the offence to which the order relates, (b) a female person, and (c) not a relevant offender as defined in section 80(2) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 at the date of conviction of the offence to which the order relates. ## 6 Subject to regulation 7, the fourth condition is that none of the offences to which the proposed order relates is— (a) an offence under section 1 or section 1A of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, (b) an offence under Part 1 of the Firearms Act 1968, (c) an offence under section 139, section 139A, section 139AA, section 141 or section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, (d) an offence under section 6 of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, or (e) an offence listed in paragraphs 1 to 35D of Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003. ## 7 (1) But the fourth condition will be met where— (a) any of the offences to which the proposed order is to relate is a specified weapons offence, and (b) the person who would be subject to the proposed order has not, before the date of conviction of the offence to which the proposed order relates, been convicted of an offence mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d) of regulation 6. (2) In this regulation a “specified weapons offence” is an offence under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 or section 139 or section 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. ## Signature Signed by authority of the Secretary of State Catherine McKinnell Minister of State Ministry of Justice 7th September 2026 ## Explanatory note (This note is not part of the Regulations) The Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), as amended by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (c. 32), makes provision for special procedures to apply to community orders and suspended sentence orders in certain cases. The special procedures give both magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court the power to require regular reviews of community and suspended sentence orders in certain cases. A progress report will be produced by probation services for the review hearing and the court may make amendments to certain conditions of the order on considering the report and the outcome of the review discussion. Incentives may be ordered by varying the frequency of review hearings or altering other parts of the order to recognise positive progress. The court may find that a breach of the order has occurred, in which case they may hold a breach hearing where they may make amendments to the order and may commit the offender to custody for up to 28 days on no more than 3 occasions during the order. These Regulations make provision for a period of 18 months from the date they come into force, during which orders may be made which qualify for special procedures. The Regulations provide that the courts which may make qualifying orders are Leeds Magistrates’ Court, Liverpool Magistrates’ Court, North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, and South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court. These Regulations provide that an individual must be aged 18 or over at the date of conviction and must be a female person in order to be eligible to be the subject of an order qualifying for special procedures. Persons who are subject to notification requirements as defined at section 80(2) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) at the date of conviction will not be eligible. These Regulations also set out certain categories of offences where an order qualifying for special procedures cannot be made. These include sexual offences and weapons offences. Exception is made for possession offences where these relate to knives or bladed weapons and the offender has not previously been convicted of a listed weapons offence or a possession of a knife or bladed article offence. In the case of first-time possession offences outlined above the court will retain discretion to consider the suitability of the person to take part in the pilot scheme. A specific need for a female-only pilot has been identified and an equality statement produced. This is published alongside the Explanatory Memorandum for these Regulations on legislation.gov.uk. A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. --- Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/993 (the official version) Page: https://openlegislation.uk/sentencing-act-2020-special-procedures-for-community-and-suspended-sentence-orders-regulations-2026 Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.