Member

It follows from what I have said that I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Sentencing Council and entirely oppose its abolition, advocated in Amendment 80 from the noble Lord, Lord Jackson. The idea propounded by the noble Lord is that only Parliament should be responsible for setting maximum sentences for which the Court of Appeal would be the only safeguard. The role of Parliament is quite distinct not only from the judicial role of judges in passing individual sentences, as he agrees, but also in performing any other function. Parliament does not have the further and quite distinct role of the Sentencing Council in giving judges advice as to the factors they should and should not take into account when passing sentence in individual cases. It is there for consistency of sentencing, and principles based on evidence.