Sections 200 – 220 and 286 – 305 and Schedules 9 and 16 of the Sentencing Code govern the imposition of COs and SSOs by the courts.
	COs are orders that impose one or more community order requirements outlined in section 201 of the Sentencing Code. The operating provisions for the fifteen requirements that can form part of an individual CO are found at Schedule 9 of the Code, and in most cases, the CO order must also include at least one requirement imposed for the purpose of punishment (see section 208(10) and (11) of the Code). By section 202 a CO is available to a court where the offender is the age of 18 or over and where a criminal offence is imprisonable. Section 204(2) provides that a court must not make a CO unless it is of the opinion that the offence, or a combination of associated offences, were "serious enough to warrant the making of such an order". Although the offence for which the offender is convicted must carry a potential sentence of imprisonment, there is no need for the "custody threshold" to be met in the particular case (i.e. the judge does not to consider that that offence itself warrants a prison sentence) in order for the court to make a CO. This contrasts with a SSO, which can only be made where the custody threshold is met.
	Section 209 provides that the CO must specify an "end date" by which all the requirements in it must have been complied with. The end date must not be more than 3 years after the date of the order. Section 220 provides that a CO ceases to be in force at the end date, or, if later, when any unpaid work requirement imposed by the order has been completed. Section 220(2) provides that a CO ceases to be in force when it is revoked. Paragraphs 14 and 15 of Schedule 10 to the Code which relates to COs in force enables a court, on the application of the offender or an officer of a provider of probation services, to revoke a community order in circumstances where the offender is making good progress or is responding satisfactorily to supervision or treatment as the case requires, if to do so would be in the interest of justice having regards to circumstances that have arisen since the order was made.
	In relation to SSOs, section 277 of the Code provides for people aged 21 or over that an SSO is available where a court passes a prison sentence of at least 14 days but no more than 2 years. For people under age 21, the relevant provision is section 264, and this is available where the term of sentence is not more than 2 years. A SSO is an order providing that a sentence of imprisonment or detention in a YOI is not to take effect unless an "activation event" occurs and a court order under paragraph 13 of Schedule 16 that the sentence is to take effect. An "activation event" occurs if the offender commits another offence during the operational period or contravenes any community requirement during the supervision period.
	An SSO may have community requirements attached to it such as an unpaid work requirement. The community requirements for SSOs listed in section 287 are the same as those for CO in section 201 of the Code.
	Section 288 provides that a SSO must specify the operational period, which must be a period, beginning with the day on which the order is made, of at least 6 months and not more than 2 years. If the SSO imposes community requirements, the order must also specify the supervision period, which again must be at least 6 months and no more than 2 years, or the operational period, whichever is the least. The supervision period is the period in which any community requirements imposed under the SSO is supervised, except for a SSO imposing an unpaid work requirement which the supervision period continues until the work requirement is complete but does not continue beyond the end of the operational period. The maximum length of an operational period is amended to three years by other measures in this Act.
	Section 303 and Schedule 16 make provision about breaches of requirements of SSOs, and revocation and amendment of SSOs. Paragraph 22 of Schedule 16 which relates to community requirements imposed as part of a SSO, enables a court, on the application of the offender or an officer of a provider of probation services, to cancel community requirements in circumstances where the offender is making good progress or responding satisfactorily to supervision, if to do so would be in the interest of justice having regards to circumstances that have arisen since the SSO was made.
	The Act enables an offender’s community order or supervision period of a suspended sentence order to terminate early if they engage with probation and court-ordered requirements and have completed all court-ordered requirements and all other objectives in their sentence plan. This means COs would end entirely, and the supervision period of a SSO will end, but the suspended sentence will continue to the end of the operational period of the sentence as set out by the court
Legal background Part 2: Management of offenders after sentencing Community order requirements and community requirements Termination of Community Order (CO) and Termination of Supervision Period of Suspended Sentence Order (SSO)