Published on:
31 May 2023
Sentencing Council Business Plan 2023/24
The Sentencing Council business plan 2023/24 sets out the work the Council aims to undertake in the year to March 2023 to meet our statutory objectives and the objectives we set ourselves in our five-year strategy.
In the coming year, we will:
- publish definitive revisions to animal cruelty guidelines
- publish new and revised guidelines for motoring offences
- consult on revised guidelines for aggravated vehicle taking
- publish definitive guidelines on perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation
- consult on a revised overarching Imposition guideline
- develop new guidelines for immigration offences and
- consult on guidelines for blackmail and threats to disclose private sexual images, kidnap and false imprisonment offences.
In the coming year we will also continue our evaluation work which will cover looking at guidelines covering bladed articles and offensive weapons, intimidatory offences and breach offences. We will also publish findings from an assessment of the impact of the Imposition guideline and undertake work to review the expanded explanations that accompany some of the guideline factors. This review of the expanded explanations will supplement external work being undertaken on user testing of the guidelines and which will explore how sentencers use and access guidelines in practice.
We will continue this year to develop You be the Judge, an online, interactive guide to sentencing. You be the Judge will use video stories to show the public how sentencing works in magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court. We are developing the tool in partnership with the Judicial Office and will be promoting it to teachers for use in schools and to public audiences of all ages.
Update November 2023
The following update summarises changes to the published business plan, in particular to the timing of the publication of consultations and definitive guidelines.