Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of sentencing guidelines for banned drivers causing harm to (a) children, (b) animals and (c) other vulnerable road users; and whether she plans to review those guidelines.

Driving offences have widespread impact on our communities and can have devastating consequences for victims, their families and their friends. The Government takes road safety very seriously and reducing those killed and injured on our roads is a key priority.

Sentencing guidelines are developed by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so. The guidelines produced provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. The Sentencing Council also recently published revised guidelines which consolidate existing legislation around banned drivers. These will come into effect next month, on 1 April 2025.

The Department for Transport is committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade. They will set out next steps on this in due course.