Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of legislating for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office to have the power to investigate sentencing patterns of Judges.

The Secretary of State for Justice has made no assessment of the merits of this proposal.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office considers complaints about judicial misconduct. It does not review judicial decisions or case management.

The proper route for reviewing judicial decisions, including sentencing, is via the relevant appeals process through the courts. This is an important principle of judicial independence, which shields judges from external pressures and gives the public confidence that cases will be decided fairly and in accordance with the law.