Member

Amendment 29, in the names of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen, and the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst, seeks to exclude all sexual and domestic abuse offenders from the new one-third release provision. I think I am suffering from déjà vu: the principles surrounding the one-third release were discussed at length in the debate on the Sentencing Bill, so I am not entirely clear why your Lordships’ House is being asked to revisit this given that Parliament has already made its decision. The Government recognise the seriousness of these offences and the harm that they cause. Many offenders convicted of the most serious sexual and domestic abuse offences already receive one of the three most serious forms of sentence—life sentences, extended determinate sentences or sentences for offenders of particular concern—so none of these cases would fall within the scope of the one-third release provision.