The Sentencing Bill 2025 marks a major shift in policy, introducing a rebuttable presumption that custodial sentences of 12 months or less will be suspended unless there are exceptional circumstances. It also implements a move to a three-part 'earned progression model' for standard determinate sentences to address the prison capacity crisis. Appeals against conviction or sentence are governed by the Criminal Appeal Act, requiring grounds that show the conviction is 'unsafe' or the sentence is 'manifestly excessive'.

Legal representation in sentencing involves the detailed preparation of mitigation and commissioning expert reports to secure the most lenient outcome under the new guidelines. The Sentencing Bill 2025 also increases the maximum length of suspended sentences from two to three years and the maximum period of deferment from six months to one year. Post-conviction, the defence role includes managing recall periods, which have been lengthened to 56 days for standard determinate sentence prisoners. Strategic advice is required to navigate the potential for 'income reduction orders' and the earlier removal of foreign national offenders under the latest reforms.