Legal background Sentencing and release: England and Wales
The sentencing provisions in the Act for England and Wales have been drafted in line with those in the Sentencing Act 2020 (known as the Sentencing Code). Accordingly, statutory references within these explanatory notes for those sentencing provisions for England and Wales have been expressed in line with the Sentencing Code, where relevant.
	The Sentencing Act 2020 consolidates the law governing sentencing procedure in England and Wales into a Sentencing Code. The Sentencing Code includes procedural provisions which sentencing courts need to rely upon during the sentencing process, including sentences which a court may impose. It re-enacted law in force at the time, and did not alter its substance or effect. It does not include the types of sentence courts in Scotland and Northern Ireland may impose, as sentencing procedure is a devolved matter in those jurisdictions, nor does it include release provisions, which will remain in Chapter 6 of Part 12 of the 2003 Act and Part 2 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997.