Sentencing
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of geographical variations in sentencing outcomes across courts in England and Wales.
Answered by Jake Richards
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.
The Ministry of Justice publishes detailed breakdowns of sentencing outcomes, including by Police Force Area on the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly.
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