Sentencing Act special procedures extended to 2029

Here is the plain‑English update you can teach tomorrow: ministers have extended the time window for certain community orders and suspended sentence orders to qualify for ‘special procedures’ until 31 March 2029. The statutory instrument (SI 2025/1207) was made on 18 November 2025, laid before Parliament on 20 November 2025, and comes into force in stages in December. The instrument is published on legislation.gov.uk and applies to England and Wales.

When we talk about ‘special procedures’ here, we mean a court‑run model where the judge or magistrates check progress regularly during the order. Probation provides reports for review hearings, the court can tighten or relax conditions to recognise progress, and-if someone breaches the order-the court can impose short periods of custody of up to 28 days on no more than three occasions during the life of the order. That is the legal framework behind what policy makers call problem‑solving or Intensive Supervision Courts.

What actually changes? Earlier regulations created time‑limited pilots. The 2023 Regulations started on 26 June 2023 and were initially capped at 18 months, later extended to 30 months (so they would have run out on 25 December 2025). The 2024 Regulations started on 14 June 2024 and were capped at 18 months (so due to end on 13 December 2025). The new 2025 instrument replaces those rolling deadlines with a single end date: orders made on or before 31 March 2029 can qualify.

If you are teaching who signed and where this applies: the instrument is signed by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice and extends to England and Wales. That ‘extent’ line matters-these rules do not apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland, which run separate sentencing frameworks.

Why is government doing this? Parliament’s Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee explained in 2024 that ministers extended the pilots to get more cases for a stronger evaluation of Intensive Supervision Courts after lower‑than‑expected volumes. The Ministry of Justice has also promoted ISCs as tough, high‑contact community sentences aimed at cutting reoffending, especially where addiction is a driver.

Where are these courts? By early 2025, pilots were operating in Liverpool and Teesside Crown Courts, with Bristol added in June 2024, and a women’s pilot at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court. Later in 2025, the Justice Secretary signalled a broader expansion. This new 2029 longstop keeps the legal cover in place while expansion and evaluation continue.

Let’s decode the statutory‑instrument process together. ‘Made’ is the minister’s signature; ‘laid’ means it is formally put before both Houses; ‘coming into force’ is the date it starts to have legal effect. Section 395A of the Sentencing Act says that when regulations simply set the time period for these pilots, they use the negative procedure-becoming law unless either House annuls them within about 40 sitting days. In 2024 the amendment followed that negative route, which is your worked example.

Dates you can put on the classroom board: made on 18 November 2025; laid on 20 November 2025; Regulations 1 and 3 start on 13 December 2025; Regulation 2 starts on 25 December 2025; the new deadline for qualifying orders is 31 March 2029. If a court makes the order on 1 April 2029, it falls outside the scheme.

What this changes for courts and probation staff in pilot areas is continuity. Judges can keep using review hearings and incentives/sanctions for eligible orders issued up to that March 2029 date. For areas joining later, the powers already described in the 2023 and 2024 Regulations-who can be included and which offences are in or out-still apply; the new instrument only adjusts the time window.

If you want a quick teaching example: imagine an adult offender in Bristol Crown Court receiving a suspended sentence order on 29 March 2029 for a non‑excluded offence and meeting the eligibility rules. That order can be put under special procedures, so the same judge reviews progress with probation input. If the same sentence were passed on 2 April 2029, it would not qualify under this instrument’s timetable. This is a neat way to practise reading commencement and cut‑off clauses.

A note on evidence and outcomes you can discuss with students. The Ministry of Justice says ISCs aim to reduce reoffending through frequent judicial contact and treatment access, with sanctions for non‑compliance; it points to early signs of reduced drug and alcohol use among participants. The appeal of this approach sits alongside concerns from Parliament’s scrutiny committee about slower evaluation if pilots run longer. That tension-urgency to expand versus the need for proof-is central to policy literacy.

For media‑literacy skills, encourage learners to check the primary sources: the Sentencing Act 2020 section 395A for the legal power; the 2023 and 2024 Regulations for the rules on who, where and which offences; and the new 2025 instrument for the dates. Reading the legislation alongside official commentary helps you separate the legal text from the policy pitch.