Changes to the bail act came in to force on the 2nd of April in which there is now a presumption that a defendant will be released without being on Bail. In addition the periods of time a defendant can be kept on bail have now been limited by statute.
Ian Kelcey who is a member of the Home Office PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence act) Advisory board gave a lecture to over a hundred solicitors at the Law Society about the changes on the 6th April 2017.