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Select Committee · Justice Committee

Public opinion and understanding of sentencing

Status: Closed Opened: 7 Jun 2022 Closed: 30 May 2024 12 recommendations 19 conclusions 1 report

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, including the extent to which … Show more

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Tenth Report - Public opinion and understanding of sentenci… HC 305 25 Oct 2023 31 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
11 Recommendation Tenth Report - Public opinion and under… Accepted in Part

Amend Victims’ Code to provide victims with free access to sentencing remarks.

The current situation where victims have to pay significant sums to receive a transcript of sentencing remarks from the Crown Court is unsustainable. We reiterate our call for all sentencing remarks to be published (subject to the relevant legal restrictions). As a minimum, victims of crime and bereaved families should … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government has committed to a one-year trial allowing victims of rape and serious sexual offences to receive sentencing remarks free of charge, and is working to increase online publication of judgments. However, it explicitly rejected the recommendation for all victims to receive free sentencing …
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Ministry of Justice
13 Recommendation Tenth Report - Public opinion and under… Accepted in Part

Provide offenders, including children, with comprehensive information on sentencing and pre-sentence reports.

It is important that offenders understand the sentence they are to serve. Offenders should have ready access to information about the sentencing process, including information about pre-sentence reports at the earliest possible stage. Following sentencing, they should have ready access to information about what their sentence will look like in … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government outlines an ongoing ‘Pathfinder to Improved Pre-Sentence Advice’ (PIPA) project aimed at increasing the volume and quality of Pre-Sentence Reports. However, the response does not address providing offenders with ready access to general sentencing information or hard copies of sentencing remarks.
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Ministry of Justice

Correspondence

1 letter
DateDirectionTitle
31 Jan 2023 To cttee Letter from Rt Hon Edward Argar MP, Minister of State for Justice, dated 24 Jan…