Sentencing: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure proportionate and consistent sentencing.
Answered by Jake Richards
In England and Wales, sentencing guidelines, developed by the independent Sentencing Council, are a key means of ensuring consistency and transparency in sentencing.
All sentencing courts in England and Wales must follow any sentencing guidelines which are relevant to the offender’s case, unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so (by virtue of section 59 of the Sentencing Code). The court must give reasons when departing from the guidelines.
The Council must consult publicly on all its draft guidelines and secure the consent of the Lady Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor before issuing them for use by the courts.
Sentencing decisions in individual cases are a matter for the independent judiciary, taking into account the circumstances of the offence and the offender. Differences in sentencing outcomes will be the result of a number of factors including whether the offender has previous convictions and whether an early guilty plea was entered, as well as the particular aggravating and mitigating factors present in each case. These may include circumstances surrounding the offence, as well as circumstances personal to the offender.
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