Member

Amendment 69 concerns the collection and publication of sentencing data by the Crown Court. If we are to expand the use of suspended sentences and community supervision, Parliament should be able to evaluate what is happening in practice. Without robust data on who is being sentenced, for what offences, and with what outcomes, the Bill becomes something of a blind experiment. As I observed in Committee, you cannot manage what you do not measure. This amendment, like Amendment 68, is a challenge for accountability. Transparency and robust evidence are fundamental if we are to retain confidence in a justice system.