Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 October 2020 to Question 98201 on Pre-sentence Reports, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the (a) higher proportion of Oral Reports and (b) lower proportion of Standard Delivery Reports for adult females relative to adult males.

Subject to the requirements of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, it is for the judiciary to decide whether or not a pre-sentence report should be commissioned.

The type of report the court decides to request may vary for a number of reasons, but the seriousness of the offence and possible risk to the public are likely to be key factors. Standard Delivery Reports are mainly used by the Crown Court when considering a public protection sentence. The higher proportion of Standard Delivery Reports on adult males when compared with adult females is consistent with the fact that a high percentage of violent and sexual offences are committed by male offenders.