Member

Many of our concerns with this part of the Bill arise from the conflation of two separate issues: the pressure on our overcrowded prisons and the need to ensure proportionate and fair sentencing. We recognise—indeed, it is undeniable—that our prisons are under immense strain. The Government are clear that one purpose of the Bill is to alleviate that pressure, but the correct response to overcrowding is not to release serious offenders into the community without meaningful consequences for their actions.