Public opinion and understanding of sentencing

Justice Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 7 Jun 2022 Closed: 30 May 2024 Parliament page
In this inquiry, the Justice Committee will examine the public’s understanding of the current approach to sentencing in England and Wales. It will investigate how the public access information on sentencing and barriers to improving public awareness on how sentencing works. The inquiry will also consider public opinion on sentencing, … Read more
12 Recommendations
19 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Letter
2 Events
Activity timeline 5 events
18 Jan
2024
Report published
25 Oct
2023
Report published
31 Jan
2023
Correspondence
13 Dec
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
29 Nov
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Tenth Report - Public opinion and understanding of sentencing HC 305 25 Oct 2023 31 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
13 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Explore simplification of sentencing terminology with the Sentencing Council and judiciary.
We welcome the Sentencing Academy’s work reviewing the terminology of sentencing and we look forward to its findings. We encourage the Government to work with Sentencing Council and the judiciary to explore whether sentencing terminology can be simplified and made … Read more
Government Response
The government shares the objective of accessible sentencing terminology and eagerly awaits insights from the Sentencing Academy's ongoing work, anticipating these findings will contribute to future initiatives, but does not commit to immediate collaborative exploration.
Ministry of Justice
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6 Recommendation Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Provide independent analysis on sentencing trends to inform public debate and policy.
The Sentencing Council should provide independent and impartial analysis on significant trends in sentencing to inform public debate and government policy.
Government Response
The government redirects this recommendation, stating that the Sentencing Council is independent and will respond directly to the Committee on recommendations applicable to it.
Ministry of Justice
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9 Conclusion Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Ensure statutory duty to publish sentencing information in individual courts is fulfilled.
Data on sentencing in individual courts will help the public to understand sentencing trends in their local area and is likely to help to stimulate local media interest and reporting. The Sentencing Council and the Ministry of Justice should work … Read more
Government Response
The government's response deflects the recommendation about fulfilling the statutory duty to publish sentencing data in individual courts by instead detailing the existing practice of broadcasting judges' sentencing remarks in Crown Courts and live-streaming cases from the Court of Appeal, aimed at public education.
Ministry of Justice
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12 Recommendation Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Amend Victims’ Code to ensure tailored information on sentencing and ULS scheme.
The Victims’ Code sets out that victims of crime are entitled to be given information about the outcome of the case and any appeals. The Government should ensure that victims of crime and bereaved families receive tailored information about sentencing … Read more
Government Response
The government notes existing provisions but commits only to considering changes to the Victims’ Code regarding the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme during a public consultation after the Victims and Prisoners Bill receives Royal Assent, deferring the requested amendments and timeline.
Ministry of Justice
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16 Recommendation Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Review statutory purposes of sentencing to emphasise justice for victims and families.
Findings from the Committee’s engagement with the public demonstrate how important it is for the MoJ to undertake more work of this nature and to incorporate findings into its policy development. The Government should review the statutory purposes of sentencing … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focused on the quarterly publication of Criminal Justice System Statistics and efforts to make data more accessible to users, not addressing the recommendation to review the statutory purposes of sentencing to emphasize justice for victims.
Ministry of Justice
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18 Conclusion Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Current sentencing policy proposals lack independent scrutiny of their impact on prison resources.
Under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the Lord Chancellor can refer a government policy proposal, or a government proposal for legislation, to the Sentencing Council for an assessment of the implications for prison resources. In practice, there has only … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected responsibility, stating that the independent Sentencing Council would respond to the committee on recommendations specific to the Council.
Ministry of Justice
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19 Recommendation Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Establish an independent advisory panel to review sentencing policy and proportionality.
The MoJ should establish an independent advisory panel on sentencing to consider proposed changes to sentencing policy and to provide advice to ministers. The independent panel should bring together academic experts, the voluntary sector, and, importantly, representatives of victims of … Read more
Government Response
The government deflects the recommendation to establish an independent advisory panel on sentencing, stating that the independent Sentencing Council will respond to recommendations applicable to it.
Ministry of Justice
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20 Conclusion Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Public engagement with Sentencing Council consultations remains limited due to resource constraints.
At present, the public consultations conducted by the Sentencing Council on changes to guidelines represent one of the principal means by which the public can engage with the sentencing process. The Council does valuable work in engaging stakeholders in their … Read more
Government Response
The government's response discussed the Common Platform case progression system, which is unrelated to the recommendation about improving public engagement with Sentencing Council consultations.
Ministry of Justice
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21 Conclusion Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Empower the Sentencing Council to increase public engagement on draft guidelines using online tools.
The Sentencing Council should be empowered to do more to encourage public engagement with its consultations on draft guidelines. For example, it should explore whether it could use the approach of using online questionnaires adopted by the Sentencing Guidelines Commission … Read more
Government Response
The government's response details the Common Platform case progression system, which is unrelated to the recommendation for the Sentencing Council to enhance public engagement with its consultations.
Ministry of Justice
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24 Recommendation Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Conduct a review of sentencing terminology to improve public understanding of life sentences.
The use by major news outlets of the phrase “jailed for life” when they are not referring to a whole life order is an example of how media coverage risks perpetuating misunderstandings of the law on life sentences among the … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected the recommendation, stating that the Sentencing Council has a duty to promote awareness of sentencing matters and will respond.
Ministry of Justice
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25 Conclusion Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Consider implementing a press judges model to proactively disseminate information on sentencing judgments.
In order to improve the quality of information in the public domain on sentencing, the judiciary should consider whether the model of press judges, as used in Finland and the Netherlands, could be used. The changing nature of the media … Read more
Government Response
The government deflects the recommendation to consider using "press judges" by stating that the Sentencing Council has a duty to publish and promote awareness of sentencing matters and will respond to the recommendation.
Ministry of Justice
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26 Conclusion Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Promote and disseminate the latest sentencing data and analysis to the media.
We would encourage the Ministry of Justice and the Sentencing Council to promote and disseminate the latest data and analysis on sentencing trends, including local data, to the media.
Government Response
The government's response discussed the importance of transparency for victims in the criminal justice system, which is unrelated to the recommendation about promoting sentencing data to the media.
Ministry of Justice
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27 Conclusion Deferred
Tenth Report - Public opinion and …
Provide additional resources to the Sentencing Council to expand its communications work.
The Sentencing Council should be provided with additional resource to expand its communications work across both traditional and social media.
Government Response
The government responds by emphasising the importance of openness and transparency for victims in the criminal justice system, rather than addressing the recommendation to provide additional resources to the Sentencing Council for communications.
Ministry of Justice
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Government Response AI assessment · 31 of 12 classified
Accepted 5
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 8
Deferred 13
Not Addressed 3
Total 12 recs + 19 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
31 Jan 2023 To committee Letter from Rt Hon Edward Argar MP, Minister of State for Justice, dated 24 January 2023, on follow up from 13 December evidence session
Parliament page