Sentencing Council consultations on draft guidelines

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales is an independent non-departmental body of the Ministry of Justice. Its primary role is to issue guidelines on sentencing, which the courts must follow unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so. In setting guidelines, the Council is required to have regard to various factors, including the sentences imposed by courts in England and Wales for particular offences and the need to promote consistency in sentencing. The Council also assesses the effect of its guidelines on sentencing practice and promotes public awareness of sentencing in the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court. The Sentencing Council is required to publish new sentencing guidelines in draft before they are finalised. The Justice Committee is listed as a statutory consultee on draft guidelines. The Justice Committee publishes its responses to the Sentencing Council’s consultations on draft sentencing guidelines, and you can access these responses in the publications (correspondence) section of this webpage.