Member

57: Clause 19, page 37, line 5, at end insert— “(b) after subsection (5) insert—“(5A) The Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor must consider any request for consent under subsection (5) as soon as practicable after receiving the request.(5B) The Lord Chief Justice or the Lord Chancellor may withhold consent under subsection (5) only if the Lord Chief Justice or (as the case may be) the Lord Chancellor considers that it is necessary to do so in order to maintain public confidence in the criminal justice system.(5C) If the Lord Chief Justice or the Lord Chancellor decides to withhold consent under subsection (5), the Lord Chief Justice or (as the case may be) the Lord Chancellor must, as soon as practicable after making the decision, lay before Parliament a document stating the reason for the decision.”;(c) in subsection (7), for “(5)” substitute “(5C)”.”Member’s explanatory statement This amendment provides that the Lord Chief Justice or Lord Chancellor may withhold consent to a request from the Sentencing Council to issue allocation guidelines only if it is necessary to do so in order to maintain public confidence in the criminal justice system and requires the reason for withholding consent to be laid before Parliament.