Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of courts using Community Orders under the Sentencing Framework on re-offending rates in the last two years.

The reoffending rates for adults with an index disposal of a community order was 36.4% in 2022/23 and 38.0% in 2023/24. The data can be found in the latest proven reoffending statistics release, in the annual tables here, in table C1a.

Studies have found that short custodial sentences of less than 12 months were associated with higher reoffending rates (approximately 4 percentage points higher) than when court orders of any length had been given (which includes both community orders and suspended sentence orders).

However, it is essential that community punishment works. The Sentencing Act 2026 includes a range of measures to make community punishment tougher. These include banning offenders from attending pubs, bars and clubs, as well as public events such as sports and concerts. The courts will also be able to prohibit an offender from driving as a punishment regardless of the offence they have committed. We have also introduced new tough restriction zones which will restrict offenders to a specific geographical area. These will be electronically monitored and are intended to serve not just as a punishment, but as an important tool to protect victims.