Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gareth Bacon and Richard Foord

Tuesday 21st November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Bacon]

The unduly lenient sentence scheme is intended for use in serious cases for offenders sentenced in the Crown court. The Attorney General has the power to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal for review if they believe it is unduly lenient. A youth court can sentence a child to up to two years of detention only. Where a child’s offence is likely to attract a sentence of more than two years, the case must be passed to the Crown court for sentencing, where the scheme therefore applies.

[Richard Foord (Tiverton and Honiton) (LD)]

Stiffening unduly lenient Crown court sentences is all very well, but there will still be delays in the system if there are backlogs in prosecuting in the courts. Up to 25% of criminal barristers have left the profession over the past five years, so what action are the Government taking to address the exodus of criminal barristers?

[Gareth Bacon]

In recent years the Government have invested an extra £141 million in criminal legal aid, which should expedite a solution to the situation.