Member

As and when the Bill passes, the Sentencing Council will continue to operate, so when we consider amending the Bill further, we must have regard to the council’s ability to operate effectively and convincingly. It can play its role in the criminal justice system effectively only if the guidelines that it produces are authoritative. Sentencers are likely to see them as such only if the Sentencing Council is clearly independent, and is seen to make its judgments from a legal, not a political, perspective.