Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the offence provisions in schedules 1 and 2 of the European Referendum Bill provide for the same custodial penalty whether an accused person is convicted on indictment or on summary complaint.

The offences in Schedules 1 and 2 to the EU Referendum Bill follow precedents set by existing electoral and wider law in relation to sentencing.

Where a custodial sentence can be imposed, until section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is commenced, the maximum custodial sentence on summary conviction in England and Wales is 6 months compared to 12 months for conviction on indictment. In Northern Ireland the maximum custodial sentence on summary conviction is 6 months compared to 12 months for conviction on indictment. In Scotland, the maximum custodial sentence is 12 months on summary conviction or for conviction on indictment.

The maximum custodial sentences on summary conviction reflect existing differences in sentencing powers of the courts that try cases summarily in different parts of the UK.