Section 26 makes amendments to limit the provisions regarding home detention curfew (HDC) in section 246 of the 2003 Act, which contains the power for the Secretary of State to release an offender on licence before required to do so on HDC.
	Subsection (2) amends section 246 to provide that the power can only be used to release an offender serving one or more sentences under section 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 or section 250 of the Sentencing Code i.e. offenders sentenced as youths (except for those falling into section 244ZA (SDS+) or section 247A (terrorist prisoners)). Offenders serving adult SDS will no longer be able to be released early on home detention curfew.
	Section 246(4)(gb) was introduced to change the policy whereby offenders released under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and then recalled could never be released on HDC in relation to any future sentence. It provides that HDC release is only prohibited where the requisite custodial period for the previous sentence ended less than 2 years before the beginning of the current sentence. Subsection (2)(i) deems a definition of "requisite custodial period" to apply to make it clear that this period is the same as that mentioned in section 244(3)(a) (i.e., one half of the sentence) as the term "requisite custodial period" is not one used in the 1991 Act. For all other offenders, the period will be as set out in section 243A(3)(a), (aa) or (b) or 244(3)(a), (aa) or (d) (i.e., one half or one third, as the case may be).
	Subsection (3) amends section 255BA to remove references to recall following release on HDC for adult SDS.
	Subsections (4) to (6) are consequential amendments required as a result of the removal of HDC release from adult SDS.
	Subsection (7) is an application provision providing that the section does not apply to those offenders (including adult SDS) who are released on HDC at the time of commencement.
Part 2: Management of offenders after sentencing Section 26: Limitation of provisions about home detention curfew