Progression Exclusion
An offence barred from the Sentencing Act 2026 progression model. On 4 August 2026 the government excluded rape, serious child sex offences and grooming offences, so release points for those offences do not move. Life, IPP and extended determinate sentences were never in scope. Being excluded does not lengthen a sentence - the change simply does not apply to it.
Related Terms
Relationship map
Progression Model
The three-stage structure the Sentencing Act 2026 gives standard determinate sentences: roughly one-third in custody, one-third in the community under intensive supervision, and one-third 'at risk' with no active supervision but still liable to recall. It starts on 1 October 2026. Also called the earned progression model, though release remains automatic at the conditional release date.
SDS33
Shorthand for the release point that replaces SDS40 from 1 October 2026: most people serving a standard determinate sentence are automatically released after one-third of the custodial term rather than 40%. Sentences currently releasing at two-thirds move to one-half.