Detail of Provisions Schedule – consequential, transitional and transitory provision Part 2 – transitional and transitory provision Paragraph 4: short-term prisoners on licence when automatic early release changes
74.Paragraph 4 makes transitional provision for short-term prisoners who are on licence at the point when the change to automatic early release made by section 1 of the Act takes effect. This covers both those on home detention curfew under section 3AA of the 1993 Act and those who have received compassionate release on licence under section 3 of the 1993 Act.
75.The duration of the licence granted to such short-term prisoners is provided for in section 11 of the 1993 Act and (other than in the case of short-term terrorism prisoners) is tied to the point when, had the individual not been released on licence, they would have been given automatic early release under section 1(1) of the 1993 Act. Those who are on licence at the point when section 1 of the 1993 Act is altered as a result of the change made by this Act will therefore automatically have their licence periods recalculated: where they would have benefitted from an earlier release had they remained in prison, their licences will similarly end early.
76.However, paragraph 4 makes provision to avoid this leading to any retrospective change to when the licence ends. It provides for the person’s licence to end (unless revoked earlier) on the later of the date on which section 1 of the Act comes into force and the date on which the licence would otherwise have ended.
77.For example, prior to the Act coming into force, an individual might be on licence with their licence due to end in February 2025 (on what would have been their automatic early release date, upon reaching 50% of their sentence). If that person’s sentence is now recalculated to find the 40% point, that might occur in December 2024. If the Act comes into force in January 2025, that person’s licence will be recalculated and brought to an end in January (i.e. on the date the changes to automatic early release take effect). What this paragraph of the schedule prevents is the individual’s licence suddenly being viewed after the fact as having ended in December, when they reached the 40% mark, despite having been in force throughout December prior to the Act’s changes coming into force.