Member

For victims and families, access to the remarks is often central to understanding the outcome of a case and to having confidence that justice has been done. It will also be crucial to their consideration in making an application to the unduly lenient sentence scheme, as the Minister mentioned. Officially, the Government continue to insist that that should remain available for 28 days, but I take on board the Minister’s remark that they are considering a 56-day time limit. What I know is incredibly important to the families is that, as well as having a wider overall limit, those directly affected by the most serious crimes get a more extended period than simply 56 days, which is equivalent to the offender’s ability to have a limited appeal in exceptional circumstances. I hope the Minister takes that on board.