The bill would require the government to make arrangements to ensure all individuals serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPP sentences) have been resentenced within 24 months of the act being passed. The government would also be required to establish a committee to provide advice on the resentencing exercise.
IPP sentences were indeterminate sentences designed to protect the public from serious offenders whose crimes did not merit a life sentence. However, they were abolished in 2012 following concerns raised about their implementation and impact on IPP prisoners’ release prospects. The abolition did not apply retrospectively to those who were already serving an IPP sentence. As of 30 September 2024, there were 1,095 offenders still serving an IPP sentence who had never been released from prison on licence.
In 2022, following repeated concerns raised by campaign groups and parliamentarians about the number of IPP prisoners who remained in prison beyond their tariff period, the House of Commons Justice Committee recommended the government introduce legislation to enable a resentencing exercise to be undertaken of all IPP prisoners. At the time, the then Conservative government said it would not support a resentencing exercise. The bill would implement the committee’s proposal.
