A more joined up approach to dealing with perpetrators of domestic abuse which will allow criminal justice agencies to identify domestic abusers and ensure they are better monitored to protect victims is to come into effect over the next two years, with the passing of new legislation.
The Sentencing Act has received Royal Assent and will see significant investment in the prisons service, as well as more supervision for recently released offenders.
The act was the government’s response to former justice secretary David Gauke’s Independent Sentencing Review, published in May 2025, which laid bare the problems within the prison system and issues with capacity. The issues came to a head in the summer of 2024, when the need for prison cells exceeded the supply.
An emergency release of prisoners over the course of the autumn prevented the system from collapsing, but the situation was “far from ideal”, Gauke said. Writing in the foreword to the report, he said more needed to be done to cut re-offending rates, and improve confidence in the justice system, adding:
“Many victims feel let down by a system in which they consider that communication is often inadequate and information opaque. This is not helped by an unnecessarily complex sentencing regime with multiple release points. Greater transparency in setting out when an offender might be released should allow victims to prepare for this point with greater confidence.”
At the time of the release, violence against women and girls (VAWG) campaigners raised concerns that those convicted of domestic abuse would be free to reoffend. When the review was published, the government said it accepted its recommendations increase tagging for VAWG perpetrators, identify perpetrators of domestic abuse at sentencing, and expand specialist domestic abuse courts.
The new act will introduce a new ‘earned progression model’ for offenders, with more onus on early release being reliant upon good behaviour, not time served. Restriction zones preventing offenders from access certain areas victims frequent will be introduced, and judges will be able to bar criminals from pubs, concerts and sports matches, curtail freedoms, and require financial or community payback.
In cases of domestic abuse, criminal justice agencies will be able to identify abusers, ensure they are better monitored, and that the right measures are in place to protect victims. An additional £700 million is being allocated, in addition to the current £1.6 billion budget.
Commenting on Royal Assent, sentencing minister Jake Richards said:
“This government inherited a prison system bursting at the seams and at breaking point – risking the total breakdown of law and order in this country.
“Urgent, bold action was needed to keep the public safe. These reforms will make sure prisons never run out of space again and dangerous offenders are kept off our streets, while putting victims first with much tougher punishments for offenders outside jail.
“We are already delivering the biggest prison expansion since the Victorian era, but the reality is we cannot just build our way out of the chaos – it must go hand in hand with radical reform to avoid another ticking timebomb.”
There will be a two year phased implementation period giving the probation service and victims support groups the time needed to prepare for the changes coming in.
