The Secretary of State has the power to revoke a determinate sentence offender’s licence and recall them to prison under section 254 of the 2003 Act. Although there is no statutory test for recall, in practice the power is exercised for breach of licence condition(s) or where the offender’s risk can no longer be managed in the community.
	For SDS offenders, there are two types of recall following licence revocation, depending on whether the offender is suitable for automatic release (known as "fixed term recall") or whether they should be liable to serve the remainder of their sentence in prison, unless re-released by the Secretary of State or Parole Board (known as "standard recall").
	The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Suitability for Fixed Term Recall) Order 2025 ("the Order") was made on 8 July 2025, and came into force from 2 September 2025. The Order amends the test for suitability for fixed term recall in section 255A of the 2003 Act such that an offender is suitable for automatic release where they are 18 or over and serving a sentence of less than four years and none of the exclusions apply, or they will not pose a risk of serious harm if released at the end of the fixed term period. The exceptions from mandated fixed term recall are that the offender is managed under multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) level 2 or 3, is a terrorist or terrorist-connected offender or poses a terrorist risk, has committed certain national security offences, or is recalled on account of being charged with a further offence.
	A fixed term recall means the offender will be released automatically after 28 days (14 days for sentences of under 12 months) under section 255B. A standard recall means the offender is liable to serve the remainder of their sentence in prison, unless re-released by the Secretary of State or Parole Board under section 255C.
	The Act amends the recall provisions in the 2003 Act to provide that all offenders serving SDS sentences will serve 56 days in custody following recall, unless excluded. At the end of this period, except in exceptional circumstances, they will be automatically re-released on licence. The Act also provides that an offender may be detained after the end of the automatic release period on a standard recall in certain limited circumstances. They may be detained where the Secretary of State believes on reasonable grounds that the prisoner would, if released, pose a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission of any of the following offences- (a) murder; or (b) specified offences, within the meaning of section 306 of the Sentencing Code (this includes specified violent, sexual or terrorist offences). They may also be detained where the Secretary of State receives information following the recall that means the offender falls into one of the exceptions from fixed term recall set out above, which mirror those in the Order, as well as adding persons who may be at risk of involvement in foreign power threat activity to the list of exclusions.
	The Act preserves the recall model (prior to commencement of the 2025 Order) for those sentenced as children to a standard determinate sentence under section 250 of the Sentencing Code or historically under section 91 of the Power of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, where they are not also serving an adult standard determinate sentence.
	Consequently, the position for offenders serving these youth standard determinate sentences under sections 255A (as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Suitability for Fixed Term Recall) Order 2024) is preserved.
	For those aged under 18 when returned to custody, a fixed term recall will be available under section 255A where the Secretary of State is content that they would not be a risk of harm to the public if released at the end of the automatic release period. Those serving youth standard determinate sentences who are over 18 years old when recalled will automatically receive a fixed term recall of 14 days under section 255A if they are serving a sentence of under 12 months, providing they have not been recalled on account of being charged with a serious offence and are not being managed at MAPPA level 2 or 3 under section 325. The period for fixed-term recalls as provided for in section 255A will continue to be 14 days for sentences of less than 12 months and 28 days for sentences of 12 months of more.
Legal background Part 2: Management of offenders after sentencing Recall and further release