In the context of the presumption to suspend short custodial sentences of 12 months or less, this Act amends the "no real prospect" test in the Bail Act 1976 so that fewer exceptions to bail apply in cases where immediate imprisonment is unlikely.
	The "no real prospect" test currently provides that, for unconvicted adult defendants, fewer exceptions to the right to bail apply where the court considers that there is no real prospect that the defendant will be sentenced to a custodial sentence. It therefore limits the availability of remand into custody where a custodial sentence, whether immediate or suspended, is unlikely to be imposed at sentence.
	The Act amends the "no real prospect" test so that it applies:
where the court considers that there is no real prospect that the defendant will be sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence; and
to defendants who have been convicted but are awaiting sentence.
	This means that, for all adult defendants, a more limited set of exceptions to bail will apply where the court considers there is no real prospect of an immediate custodial sentence so that the defendant is likely to receive a suspended or non-custodial sentence.
	These changes to the "no real prospect" test complement the presumption to suspend short custodial sentences of 12 months or less that is also being brought forward by the Act. This measure means that when passing a custodial sentence of 12 months or less, there will be a presumption that the court suspends a sentence of immediate custody and instead pass a suspended sentence order (SSO) unless: an offender has breached an order of the court, an individual would be at significant risk of harm, either physical or psychological, or there are exceptional circumstances which would not justify passing a suspended sentence.
	With a presumption in place to suspend short sentences, immediate imprisonment is expected to become less likely in these cases and the court should be better able to anticipate whether a defendant will go on to receive a sentence of immediate custody when deciding whether to grant or refuse bail. It follows that the justification for remanding a defendant into custody is reduced where an immediate custodial sentence appears unlikely. This change should also help to mitigate the growth in the prison remand population.
	It will be for the court to conclude whether there is a real prospect that the defendant would receive an immediate custodial sentence, taking into account the exemptions to the presumption to suspend short sentences. Where an exemption applies, the court is likely to conclude there would be a real prospect that the defendant could receive an immediate custodial sentence. In these cases, bail could be refused under any of the relevant exceptions to bail set out in the Bail Act 1976.
Policy background Part 3: Bail "No real prospect" test