Select committee: Justice Committee
Conclusion 23
Tenth Report - Public opinion and understanding of sentencing
Published 25 Oct 2023
Paragraph 108
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee Public opinion and understanding of sentencing All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
In relation to the current challenge to public confidence based on the persistence of the view among the public that the system is not severe enough, it is important to recognise that this represents a significant long-term public policy challenge that needs to be addressed. Our own polling indicates that the majority of the public support further increases to the severity of sentences for the gravest criminal offences. We should not assume that these views are based on mistaken assumptions or lack of knowledge of current sentencing practice. It is vital that policymakers adopt a consistent and principled response to maintaining public confidence in response to the challenge of the public’s position on sentencing severity. This should be informed by an attempt to understand what the public’s expectations are.
From: Justice Committee, Tenth Report - Public opinion and understanding of sentencing (HC 305), paragraph 108, 25 October 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 January 2024 (deadline 25 December 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report and says it has "delivered, or are delivering, several initiatives" on public confidence and transparency, while leaving recommendations aimed at the Sentencing Council and the judiciary to those bodies.
- On sentencing remarks, it has announced "a one-year trial" letting victims of rape and other serious sexual offences request the judge's sentencing remarks free of charge in the Crown Court. It does not extend this to all victims, citing cost to the taxpayer.
- On the Victims' Code, once the Victims and Prisoners Bill has received Royal Assent, the MoJ "will be publicly consulting on an updated Victims' Code" and will consider the information on the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme as part of that.
- On statistics, it says its quarterly Criminal Justice System Statistics publication provides more flexible data tools than a lengthy digest would, and that it "will continue to consider options" for broader visual presentations.
- On terminology, it "share[s] the objective" of accessible sentencing language and awaits the Sentencing Academy's work. On press judges, it says any consideration is "not for government but a matter for the judiciary".