Recommendation 5

Whilst there have been some minor changes to guidance to try to give greater visibility to the obligation on the court to consider the best interests of children when a primary carer is sentenced to custody, there are strong risks that this will continue to be too little to be effective for those children whose lives are torn apart in these processes. However, we disagreed in 2019 when the Government did not think it necessary to put the consideration of the welfare of children whose parents are sentenced to prison on a statutory footing, and two years later, we continue to disagree. We cannot see how the welfare and best interests of children are being sufficiently considered if their welfare and best interests are not prioritised as a consideration when a parent is sentenced. We hope that the Government takes the opportunity of the Bill to reconsider its position.