Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has plans to bring forward legislative proposals on sentencing for people found guilty of the murder of a child.
The Government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill, currently before Parliament, will make essential reforms to sentencing legislation to ensure that criminals face punishments which fit their crimes.
The PCSC Bill has added the murder of a child involving a substantial degree of premeditation to the list of examples where a whole life order is normally the appropriate starting point. The Bill is expected to gain Royal Assent shortly.
The PCSC Bill also includes provisions to increase the maximum penalties for child cruelty offences including causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult. A consequence of increasing the maximum penalty for that offence from 14 years to life imprisonment is that offenders sentenced to 7 years or more will spend two thirds of the sentence, rather than half, in custody. If the judge determines that the offender is dangerous and the circumstances of the offence are sufficiently serious, a life sentence for that offence will be mandatory.