The Sentencing Act 2026 is Missing Something Very Important – Rehab

Adferiad believes there’s a lot to welcome in the Sentencing Act 2026, such as the emphasis on approved accommodation and community-based treatment. However, there is a major omission: residential rehab. As a charity working with individuals transitioning from the criminal justice system into recovery, we think this is an oversight that could undermine the reforms before they are properly implemented.

What is striking is how specific some of the drug and alcohol use recommendations are. The Independent Sentencing Review that informed the Act even talks about monitoring semaglutide, an experimental drug with no evidence-base for addiction treatment. Yet residential rehabilitation, which is a well-established intervention with a defined role in recovery pathways, is absent.

There is a substantial focus on approved accommodation and community treatment. Of course, these things matter and can be life-changing, but they don’t work in isolation.

For many people leaving prison, rehab is the stage that makes recovery feel within reach. It gives people time to stabilise, rebuild confidence, and start changing their lifestyle patterns. Without that foundation, we’re asking people to go straight from prison into drug-free accommodation, with only limited community-based treatment behind them, and then acting surprised when their sobriety doesn’t hold.

We already know what works. Scotland has shown what is possible through its Prison to Rehab Pathway. It demonstrates what could be implemented in England and Wales.

If sentencing reform is serious about recovery and public safety, rehab needs to be part of the framework: protected funding, routine assessment during sentence planning, clear prison-to-rehab pathways, and discharge planning that includes work, education and long-term support.

If we want these reforms to succeed, we must consider rehab as a vital part of recovery.