Overview
- About 700 prisoners were released in the first wave on Thursday, October 1, 2026, and roughly 5,000 are scheduled to leave in stages over the next year after the total was cut from 6,000 following ministerial exemptions.
- The change is authorised by the 2026 Sentencing Act which lets ministers move release eligibility from 40 percent of a fixed term to one third for some offenders.
- Ministers have exempted people convicted of rape, the most serious child sex offences and manslaughter, a decision that removes the killers of PC Andrew Harper from the programme.
- The government promises the 'toughest supervision in British history' with licence conditions, electronic tagging and local restriction zones but His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation has reported nearly half of tags are not fitted on time and probation services say they lack capacity.
- Victims groups and commissioners warn survivors will face increased risk and practical strain because specialist services and tracking systems may not be ready, and the government plans to add 14,000 prison places by 2031 to address long‑run capacity problems.