Criminal justice: UK government action

Since the CAT recommendation was made in June 2023, the UK government has taken some action to address the overrepresentation of children belonging to ethnic minority groups in detention. An update report on the Inclusive Britain Action Plan (2022 to 2024) shows that the Ministry of Justice worked with the London Metropolitan Police to create a Presumption of Legal Advice scheme for children in police stations in London. This scheme aimed to address ethnic disparities in detention rates and sentencing. The government also reported that other police forces have adopted the scheme in England and Wales in April 2024. However, the government has not yet taken action to roll this out nationally.

Since the CERD recommendation was made in September 2024, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), launched an action plan to tackle racial disproportionality and safeguard fair prosecution decision-making for all in November 2024. The CPS is the government department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. The action plan acknowledges that there is a disproportionate representation of ethnic minorities across the whole criminal justice system and sets out a comprehensive programme of work to tackle the root causes of disproportionality and embed meaningful change across the CPS.

There are a range of non-custodial sentences available in England and Wales, including community sentences, fines, probation, or mental health treatment. The UK government has not committed to an increased use of these and other alternatives to imprisonment since this recommendation was issued. However, in October 2024, it launched a review into sentencing to improve capacity in prisons. Following this review, in May 2025, the government announced reforms to sentencing. One change will be a new ‘earned progression model’ where prisoners earn their way to release through good behaviour or face longer in jail.

Assessment up to date as of September 2025. 

The UK government has taken the following actions since the recommendation was made in March 2019.

In November 2023, the UK government introduced the Sentencing Bill. This bill would have introduced a presumption to suspend short sentences of 12 months or less, meaning that they would not involve imprisonment and could be served in the community. It is unclear whether the bill will be reintroduced.

In July 2024, the UK government lowered the requisite period after which prisoners serving prison sentences for non-violent offences are eligible to apply for early release to 40% of the sentence. This change applies to all prisoners and does not specifically target women convicted of minor offences. Indeed, the Equalities Statement for the legislation enacting this change notes that the change will likely impact men disproportionately as they are over-represented in prison populations.

In October 2024, the UK government commissioned an independent review of sentencing to be carried out between 2024 and 2025. The terms of reference for the review state that it will consider the use and composition of non-custodial sentences, including community alternatives, and that it will consider amending the sentencing framework to take into account the specific needs of women.

Independent from government, judicial actors have taken actions to address this recommendation which should be noted for context.

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales ran a consultation between November 2023 and February 2024 on the guidelines governing the imposition of community and custodial sentences. This guideline applies to all offenders, including women convicted of minor offences, and represents a development in how alternative sentences other than imprisonment will be considered by the judiciary.

Assessment up to date as of December 2024.

Since the first recommendation was made in March 2024, the UK government has introduced a new mandatory Prison Safety Policy Framework which must be implemented by January 2025 in public sector prisons and contracted prisons in England and Wales. This contains a set of actions that prisons must take to manage the risk of self-harm and suicide

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that since March 2024, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has continued to work on its safety programme, which includes a workstream on managing the risks of suicide and self-harm. This includes a pilot on emotional resilience training for prisoners in their early days in custody and providing additional support to prisons experiencing multiple self-inflicted deaths

It is important to note for context that the UK government was pursuing the 2023 to 2028 suicide prevention strategy for England before the recommendation was made. This includes some relevant commitments for people in custody, including funding for mental health support services and the installation of new ligature-resistant cells

Since before the second recommendation was published in June 2019, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) - an independent public body funded by the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office - has investigated all deaths in custody.

There is no evidence that the UK government has taken steps to ensure the independence or thoroughness of these investigations since either recommendation was made.

Since the recommendation on prompt investigations was made in June 2019, the PPO has set itself timeline targets for investigating and producing an initial report into any death in custody. The most recent target is 20 weeks for a natural causes death and 26 weeks for any other death.

Assessment up to date as of December 2024.

The UK government confirmed to us in November 2024 that they have commenced a review on the policy governing segregation in prisons within England and Wales. We do not have sight of the terms of the review and cannot assess whether the review addresses the concerns in the recommendation. The Prison Rules 1999 continue to govern the use of segregation in England and Wales, including solitary confinement.

Assessment up to date as of December 2024.

Since the recommendation was made in March 2024, the UK government has not taken any action to substantively update its existing policy guidance for prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales relating to body search procedures. The Searching Policy Framework sets out requirements for searching within the prison estate including supervision and proportionality. It also includes an annex on transgender and non-binary searching considerations.

In respect of gender identity, the UK government has not updated the policy framework for transgender offenders since January 2024, before the recommendation was made.

Assessment up to date as of December 2024.