From next year, judges in England and Wales will be able to hand out extra punishments to prisoners who refuse to attend their own sentencing hearing, or who are removed from court for disrupting proceedings. New regulations confirmed by the Ministry of Justice will let Crown Court judges order the loss of in-cell privileges for up to 84 days, confinement to a cell for up to 21 days, and the loss of social visits for up to 27 days, or visits limited to once every four weeks for up to 84 days.
The move follows high-profile cases, including that of Lucy Letby, where convicted killers have refused to appear in the dock to hear their sentence. It builds on existing contempt of court powers, which already allow judges to fine an offender or add up to two years to their sentence for staying away. The new prison-based sanctions can be applied instead of, or alongside, those penalties. Offenders aged 18 to 20 held in Young Offender Institutions face shorter maximum restrictions – up to 21 days without privileges or 10 days in cellular confinement.
For prisoners and their families, the change likely to be felt most is the possible loss or restriction of social visits, since these are often the main way family contact is maintained. The government has built in an exemption for visits from a prisoner’s own children, whatever sanction is imposed. The regulations still need to complete the usual parliamentary process before coming into force, expected in 2027.