The Sentencing Council’s response to the third annual consultation on miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines used in both magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court was published today. 

The report sets out amendments that we will be making to sentencing guidelines following the consultation. The amendments are designed to improve clarity and reflect developments in case law and changes in legislation.

The changes, which will come into effect on 1 April 2024, include:

• amendments and additions to mitigating factors and their associated expanded explanations across sentencing guidelines. These include replacing the existing reference to pregnancy in the ‘Sole or primary carer’ factor with a dedicated factor for pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care.
• changes to the manslaughter guidelines relating to strangulation and coercive control, in in response to recommendations in the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review
• amendments to the Fraud guideline to give more recognition to the impact on victims even where there is no or very little financial loss
• amendments to the guideline for sentencing individuals for fly-tipping and other environmental offences to give greater emphasis to community orders over fines.