Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department has commissioned on the effect of the gender of (a) the judge and (b) the defendant on sentencing outcomes in Crown Courts.

The sentencing framework applies to all offenders who appear before the courts regardless of gender. The courts must however have regard to the individual circumstances of the offence and the offender. Offenders who commit serious offences face lengthy custodial sentences. Sentencing in individual cases can be subject to appeal.

The Department has commissioned no external research on the effect of the gender of the judge or the defendant on sentencing outcomes in the Crown Court. However, statistics showing the sentencing outcomes of men and women and also the gender profile of the judiciary are published within the biennial “Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System”

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/women-and-the-criminal-justice-system--2). The next edition of this publication is due for release in November 2014.