National Probation Service v The Crown Court Sitting At Blackfriars & Ors

A community order imposing unpaid work remains in force until the offender completes the specified hours or the order is revoked. This specific rule qualifies the general rule that a community order ends on the specified end date. The court may therefore extend the twelve-month period for completing unpaid work under paragraph 20 of Schedule 8, even after that period or the end date has expired, provided the order remains in force. The obligation to perform the work continues, and failure to complete it in time may constitute a breach. The statutory distinction between community orders and suspended sentence orders is deliberate.

The National Probation Service appealed by way of stated case from a ruling of the Crown Court sitting at Blackfriars. The Crown Court had held that it lacked power to extend the period for completing unpaid work after the end date specified in community orders made against Alan Musoke and Kamal Ustek.

Each respondent had completed only part of the unpaid work required. The central issue was whether the relevant provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 permitted an extension after the twelve-month period and specified end date had expired.

1. Appeal allowed. The applications to extend the time for completing the unpaid work requirements were remitted to the Crown Court.
2. Section 200(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires unpaid work to be performed during a period of twelve months, subject to the power of extension in paragraph 20 of Schedule 8. That power is available where a community order imposing unpaid work remains in force.
3. Section 177(5B) establishes the general rule that a community order ceases to be in force on its end date, but expressly makes that rule subject to section 200(3). Section 200(3) provides the specific exception that, unless revoked, a community order imposing unpaid work remains in force until the specified hours have been completed. The order therefore remains in force after the end date where the work is incomplete.
4. The court distinguished the duration of the order from the period during which the work must be performed. The latter may be extended under paragraph 20 of Schedule 8. The twelve-month requirement remains legally significant because failure to complete the work within it may amount to a breach, although an extension may avoid that consequence.
5. The difference between community orders and suspended sentence orders is deliberate. As explained in West Yorkshire Probation Board v Cruickshanks [2010] EWHC 615 (Admin), section 200(4) prevents an unpaid work requirement in a suspended sentence order continuing beyond its operational period, whereas section 200(3) contains no equivalent cut-off for a community order.
6. The Crown Court’s interpretation would produce arbitrary and irrational results, including loss of the power to extend time or deal with breach proceedings merely because the end date had passed. The judgment in R v Gulan Ahmed Khan [2015] EWCA Crim 835; [2015] 2 Cr App R (S) 39 did not decide when an extension could be granted after expiry of the twelve-month period and did not affect the conclusion reached.

• Crown Court sitting at Blackfriars: On 28 August 2018, held that it lacked power to extend the period for completing unpaid work after the relevant end dates.
• High Court (Administrative Court): On appeal by stated case, allowed the appeal and remitted the applications to the Crown Court.