His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service: IPP Sentence Annual Report 2025-26
House of Commons · Written Statements · 9 Jul 2026 · 1 speech · Official Report
My noble Friend the Minister of State for Justice (Lord Timpson) has today made the following statement: Today, I am laying before Parliament the HMPPS 2025-26 annual report on the IPP sentence, pursuant to section 67 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024. This report sets out the activity across HMPPS for the financial year of 2025-26 to support those serving the IPP sentence in prison to work towards a safe release, and those in the community, towards the termination of their licence. The latest published statistics show that as at 31 March 2026, there were 896 unreleased and 1,433 recalled IPP prisoners, compared to 1,012 unreleased and 1,532 recalled IPP prisoners on the corresponding date in 2025. As at 31 December 2025, there were 891 offenders serving IPP sentences in the community and 207 prisoners in hospital for treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983, compared to 1,376 offenders in the community and 233 prisoners in hospital on the corresponding date in 2024. The Sentencing Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 22 January 2026, introduced further reforms to IPP licence termination on 1 June 2026. These reforms: reduced the qualifying period for licence termination from three years to two years following first release; and enable individuals whose licence is not terminated at the end of this period to apply for a further Parole Board review one year later, prior to automatic termination. The IPP action plan 2026-27 is included as part of this annual report,...