Member

Amendments 81 to 83 are concerned with Clause 19, which requires the Sentencing Council to seek the consent of both the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice before issuing a guideline, then allows the council to issue its guideline only if they both consent. Be under no illusion: this is a Lord Chancellor veto. I am quite confident that no Lord Chief Justice would be interested in vetoing a guideline. It would enable the Lord Chancellor to undermine the work of the Sentencing Council—indeed, stymie it completely—not only by positively refusing consent but through inaction. In my respectful opinion, this exorbitant power upsets the careful statutory structure, with its roots in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and which evolved in the 2009 Act when the Sentencing Council was established.