Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the unduly lenient sentence scheme in relation to the offences of (a) death by dangerous driving and (b) driving under the influence.
Answered by Alex Chalk
Each eligible case in which a review of sentence is sought is considered personally by the Law Officers with the utmost care, to decide whether there are proper grounds to make a referral to the Court of Appeal. ‘Eligible’ means no more than 28 days have elapsed since the sentence and the offence is within the unduly lenient sentence scheme. The offence of death by dangerous driving is within the scheme; the offence of driving while under the influence of drink or drugs is not. Last year the Law Officers referred eight sentences passed in cases of death by dangerous driving to the Court of Appeal; four were increased. The decision whether to increase a sentence is a matter for the independent judiciary.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Attorney General:
What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the referral process for members of the public and victims to request review of sentences under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
It is important that the ULS scheme is easy to operate. That is why there is no requirement to be connected to the case, and no particular form in order to make a reference.
The revised Victims’ Code, which came into force earlier this year, contains for the first time the entitlement of victims to be informed about the scheme. This ensures that victims know about the scheme, promptly after sentence and so referrals can be made within the time limit.