Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing sentences for offenders guilty of unlawful act manslaughter.

Parliament is responsible for setting the overall legal sentencing framework and the maximum penalty for unlawful act manslaughter is life imprisonment.

However, sentencing is entirely a matter for our independent courts. When deciding what sentence to impose the courts take into account the circumstances of the offence and any aggravating and mitigating factors in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council.