Commentary on provisions of Act Section 18: Rehabilitation periods: England and Wales
Section 18 inserts a new entry in the table in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 5 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Acts 1974. The new entry restores rehabilitation periods to the service punishments of reprimand and severe reprimand by amending the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 amended that Act for England and Wales and, in doing so, gave those punishments a rehabilitation period of "nil". The result of this was that these punishments were immediately "spent", and it meant that they could not be taken into account, for example by promotion boards. The result of this amendment is these punishments will receive a rehabilitation period of 12 months for adults and 6 months for young offenders.