Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her oral contribution during the Second Reading of the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill, Official Report, column 997, what recent progress his Department has made on the review of the data that his Department holds on disparities in the justice system; when he plans to complete the review; and whether he plans to take further steps to assess (a) the underlying causes and (b) effectiveness of policy on disparities in the justice system.

The previous Lord Chancellor commissioned a review of the latest data on sentencing disparities and its causes. I will provide more information on this in due course.