Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, on how many occasions his Department has referred a criminal sentence to the Court of Appeal for review because it was felt to be unduly lenient in 2015.

In the year to 31^st December 2014, the Law Officers personally considered 469 cases and referred 128 offenders to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. Leave was granted by the Court in 95% of cases which included some of the most serious violent and sexual offences, including murder, rape and sexual assault.

The Attorney General’s Office publishes statistics for unduly lenient sentences at the end of the calendar year. This is to ensure that the figures are released in a consistent format and are accurate and quality assured. Unduly lenient sentences statistics for 2013 and 2014 are published on the Attorney General’s Office website - www.gov.uk/government/organisations/attorney-generals-office.