Additionally, the Act amends the Bail Act 1976 to permit the court to impose an electronic monitoring requirement on defendants who would now be bailed under the amended "no real prospect" test.
	Currently, the Bail Act 1976 provides that electronic monitoring can only be imposed on an adult defendant where the court is satisfied that without the requirement the person would not be granted bail. This means that without a change to the Bail Act 1976, those defendants that would now be bailed under the amended "no real prospect" test could only be subject to electronic monitoring where it was necessary to prevent a remand into custody on one of the more limited exceptions to bail that would apply by virtue of the "no real prospect" test.
	To support the management of any risks posed by these defendants, the Act amends the test for eligibility for electronic monitoring in the Bail Act 1976 for defendants so that it is no longer necessary for electronic monitoring to be an alternative to a remand in custody). If the statutory conditions are met, an electronic monitoring requirement will be available where the court concludes that there is a real prospect of a suspended sentence and no real prospect of an immediate custodial sentence.
	Statutory factors that may be relevant to bail
	The Act also adds to the list of factors currently included in the Bail Act 1976 which the court should take into account, where relevant, when deciding whether certain exceptions to the right to bail apply.
	The Bail Act 1976 currently provides that when considering whether certain exceptions to bail apply, the court should have regard to certain factors such as the character of the defendant, and the seriousness of their offence, "as well as to any others which appear to be relevant". Reflecting the Government’s ambitions to reduce the number of women going to prison, the Act adds the following factors as potentially relevant factors to this list: the defendant is pregnant; the defendant is a primary caregiver; and the defendant has been a victim of domestic abuse. While these factors can already be taken into account where relevant, including them in legislation will help ensure that the court takes them into consideration.
Policy background Part 3: Bail Conditions for imposing electronic monitoring requirements