Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 on the (a) number and (b) length of prison sentences.

In April 2022, the Ministry of Justice published an impact assessment on the changes to sentencing, release, probation and youth justice measures through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2022. This included the estimated impacts on the numbers and lengths of prison sentences under the new provisions. All Impact Assessments of the PCSC Act are available on gov.uk: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.

The Ministry of Justice publishes Prison Population Projections, which incorporate estimated impacts on the prison population of agreed policies, including the PCSC Act. The publication is available on gov.uk: Prison_Population_Projections_2022_to_2027.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk).