Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Deferred
Paragraph: 30
Explore simplification of sentencing terminology with the Sentencing Council and judiciary.
Recommendation
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 more accessible. The example set by the judiciary in the Netherlands and their project ‘plain language’ provides a useful model of how this could be done.
Government Response Summary
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.
Paragraph Reference:
30
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
59. We share the objective of having sentencing terminology that is accessible and comprehensible to the public. We recognise the importance of ensuring that we are using clear and simple language that is easily understandable by the public. This could involve, for example, avoiding unnecessary jargon and providing explanations for complex terms in the explanatory notes that accompany legislation. 60. We note that the JSC report highlights the Sentencing Academy’s work to review the terminology of sentencing and that the JSC is awaiting the Academy’s findings. The Government also eagerly awaits insights from the Sentencing Academy’s work, anticipating that these findings could contribute to broader initiatives or proposals in this domain.