# End indefinite IPP sentences this Parliament

> “The Prime Minister has also announced that he will end the injustice of Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences this Parliament, meaning people will no longer be trapped indefinitely under a sentence abolished more than a decade ago.”
>
> — Andy Burnham, Prime Minister, Labour Party; No 10 press release, 30 August 2026

- **Status:** Promised
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Police, courts, prisons](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/police-courts-and-prisons)
- **Speaker:** [Andy Burnham](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/andy-burnham), Prime Minister
- **Party:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour)
- **Made on:** 30 August 2026
- **Where:** No 10 press release
- **Deadline:** 1 July 2029
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** People still held in prison or supervised on licence under Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, which courts stopped handing down in 2012
- **When:** This Parliament
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-blocks-hundreds-more-criminals-from-sentencing-changes (checked word for word at its source on 20 October 2026; Open Government Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 20 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-end-ipp-sentences-2029

## Where it stands

In his Commons statement on 1 September the Prime Minister spoke of "finally grasping the nettle" on indefinite IPP sentences. The release says work will begin at once and on a cross-party basis, and that it will take time; it does not say how the sentences will end or whether that needs a new law. The end of the Parliament is taken as 1 July 2029, as on other cards. The card moves when the government publishes its plan or brings legislation.

## Timeline

- 30 August 2026, Promised: No 10 says the Prime Minister will end Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences this Parliament
- 1 July 2029, Deadline (to come): End of this Parliament (editorial date)

## About the cost

No cost has been published.

## Sources

- [No 10 press release, 30 Aug 2026: Prime Minister blocks hundreds more criminals from sentencing changes](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-blocks-hundreds-more-criminals-from-sentencing-changes)
- [PM statement to the House of Commons, 1 Sep 2026](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-statement-to-the-house-of-commons-1-september-2026)

## Checks

- Checked automatically by AI Journalist, not yet verified by an editor.
- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 20 October 2026.

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