Member

My concern about the debate we have had about these guidelines is that, for short-term political advantage, we are putting forward a hurried Bill that carries the risk of undermining the Sentencing Council and indirectly undermining the judiciary. I do not believe that that is in the interests of our legal system. I remind the Committee that the guidelines were put out to consultation and there were 150 respondents, only four of which made any reference to the guidelines on ethnic minorities that are so upsetting Members on both sides of the House. Since then, 20 organisations, including the Centre for Women’s Justice, Amnesty International and the End Violence Against Women Coalition, have written to the Lord Chancellor to say that the consequences of ditching the guidelines could be dire. Among other things, they contain detailed advice on sentencing pregnant women and the parents of very young children. I repeat that the guidelines do not dictate the sentence. They only say that there are instances—where the defendant is young, or where they are a pregnant woman—in which we want the maximum information.