Crime and Policing Act 2026 - POCA Part 2: timetabling of confiscation proceedings
Published 29 June 2026
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Guidance
This guidance is issued to raise awareness of relevant amendments introduced by the Crime and Policing Act 2026 (CPA). It is not a statement of law and is not intended to provide a comprehensive description or interpretation.
Paragraph 14 of Schedule 21 makes provision for the timing of confiscation proceedings. It replaces previous sections 14 and 15 of POCA – which provide for the ‘postponement’ of proceedings for up to two years – with new section 15A. 15A primarily changes the current law in two ways.
Firstly, it requires the court to draw up a timetable for confiscation proceedings before the end of the hearing at which it sentences the defendant for the offence (subsection (3)). This timetable will set out the deadlines for exchange of information and response under POCA sections 18, 16 and 17, the date of the confiscation hearing and, if the court deems it appropriate, the timing of an early resolution of confiscation meeting and hearing and attendant exchanges of information [and reporting to the court]. The court may also subsequently revise the timetable. This will create clarity around the process for defendants and prosecutors and facilitate timely and efficient confiscation proceedings.
Section 15A(7) additionally extends the period of time in which a court may vary a sentence under 15A(6) from the previous 28 days to 56 days. This makes the deadline consistent with the existing “slip rule” (section 385 of the Sentencing Act 2020) to avoid unintended confusion and the inadvertent missing of the deadline.