Legislation – Sentencing Act 2026

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Part 1Sentencing

New community order requirements and community requirements

14Driving prohibition requirement

(1)

The Sentencing Code is amended in accordance with subsections (2) to (7).

(2)

In section 163(2) (availability of driving disqualification), at the end insert “(including where the court makes a community order or a suspended sentence order which imposes a driving prohibition requirement).”

(3)

In section 201 (community order requirements table), in the table, after the entry relating to the prohibited activity requirement insert—

“driving prohibition requirement

Part 4A

section 207(A1)”.

(4)

In section 207 (availability of community order requirements)—

(a)

before the italic heading before subsection (1) insert—

“A1Driving prohibition requirement

A driving prohibition requirement is not an available requirement if the offence was committed before the day on which section 14(4)(a) of the Sentencing Act 2026 came into force.”;

(b)

after subsection (4) insert—

“(5)Day on which offence committed

Where an offence is found to have been committed over a period of 2 or more days, or at some time during a period of 2 or more days, it must be taken for the purposes of this section to have been committed on the last of those days.”

(5)

In section 287 (community requirements table), in the table, after the entry relating to the prohibited activity requirement insert—

“driving prohibition requirement

Part 4A

section 291(A1)”.

(6)

In section 291 (availability of community requirements)—

(a)

before the italic heading before subsection (1) insert—

“A1Driving prohibition requirement

A driving prohibition requirement is not an available requirement if the offence was committed before the day on which section 14(6)(a) of the Sentencing Act 2026 came into force.”;

(b)

after subsection (4) insert—

“(5)Day on which offence committed

Where an offence is found to have been committed over a period of 2 or more days, or at some time during a period of 2 or more days, it must be taken for the purposes of this section to have been committed on the last of those days.”

(7)

In Schedule 9 (community orders and suspended sentence orders: requirements), after Part 4 insert—

“Part 4ADriving prohibition requirement

8A

(1)

In this Code “driving prohibition requirement”, in relation to a relevant order, means a requirement prohibiting the offender from driving a motor vehicle on a road or other public place.

(2)

A driving prohibition requirement may prohibit the offender—

(a)

from driving at any time in a particular period or at particular times in a particular period;

(b)

from driving any motor vehicle or a motor vehicle of a particular kind;

(c)

from driving on any road or other public place or on a road or other public place in a particular area.

(3)

Where the court makes a relevant order imposing a driving prohibition requirement, the following must be specified in the order—

(a)

the period for which the requirement has effect;

(b)

if the order prohibits the offender from driving at particular times, those times;

(c)

if the order prohibits the offender from driving a motor vehicle of a particular kind, that kind of motor vehicle;

(d)

if the order prohibits the offender from driving on a road or other public place in a particular area, that area.

(4)

A court may impose a driving prohibition requirement whether or not the offence to which the order relates involved—

(a)

the driving of a motor vehicle, or

(b)

the use of a motor vehicle to commit the offence.

(5)

In this paragraph—

“motor vehicle” has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic Act 1988 except that for this purpose section 189(1) of that Act is to be read as if paragraph (c) (certain electrically assisted pedal cycles not to be treated as motor vehicles) were omitted;

“road” has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic Act 1988 (see section 192 of that Act).”

(8)

In section 177H of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (availability of driving disqualification order), at the end insert “(including where the court makes a service community order, an overseas community order or a suspended sentence order which imposes a driving prohibition requirement).”