Consultations

The Sentencing Council wants to hear your views. Take part in our latest consultations or see how we responded to your views on previous consultations.

VIEW CONSULTATIONS

A bulletin explaining current sentencing practice for kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail to accompany the consultation.

Kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail: Statistical bulletin (HTML)

Kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail: Statistical bulletin (PDF)

Data tables to support the statistical bulletin on kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail. The format of these tables has been adapted to improve accessibility.

Kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail: Data tables (ODS format)

Minutes of the Sentencing Council meeting on 26 January 2024.

Minutes of meeting: 26 January 2024

Minutes of the Sentencing Council meeting on 15 December 2023.

Minutes of meeting: 15 December 2023

A consultation paper on the revised Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline.

The consultation closed on 21 February 2024.

What was this consultation about?

The Sentencing Council sought views on the revised Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline in England and Wales.

The proposed revisions follow changes in legislation, developments in case law, recent sentencing research, and feedback from criminal justice practitioners.

The Imposition guideline is the main guideline for general principles around imposing community orders and custodial sentences, and in what circumstances a custodial sentence can be suspended, and deals with other sentencing considerations, such as the requesting of pre-sentence reports . The current guideline was published in 2017.

Who did we ask to respond?

We sought views from anyone who uses sentencing guidelines in their work or who has an interest in sentencing. We would sought views from individuals and organisations representing anyone who could be affected by the proposals, including:

  • victims and their families
  • defendants and their families
  • those under probation supervision or youth offending teams/supervision
  • those with protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

What did we want to know?

Through this consultation process, the Council sought views on a series of changes to the existing guideline that would provide the courts with, among other things:       

  • more guidance on the circumstances in which it may be necessary to request a pre-sentence report;
  • new sections on sentencing young adult offenders and female offenders; and
  • new information on evidence regarding the effectiveness of rehabilitation when compared with short custodial sentences, based on external research reviewed for the Council.

Related documents

A resource assessment for the draft revised overarching guideline on the Imposition of community and custodial sentences, to accompany the consultation.

Imposition draft resource assessment (HTML).

Imposition draft resource assessment (PDF).

Minutes of the Sentencing Council meeting on 17 November 2023.

Minutes of meeting: 17 November 2023

In the Sentencing Council’s strategic objectives for 2021-2026 we made a commitment to explore how guideline users access, use and interact with the sentencing guidelines on our website. To do this, we conducted research using a two-strand approach. The first strand was a survey distributed by the Council to guideline users in 2022, the results of which informed a second strand of research, for which we commissioned the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT).

The project has identified areas where the usability of the tools, functions and guidelines available on the website, such as the search function and fine calculator, could be improved. In response to the findings from the 2021 survey, as well as the recommendations set out in the BIT report, the Council has already made a number of improvements to the website, and is considering further changes improve the experience of guideline users.

Reports with an analysis of the findings of both strands can be found below.

Survey analysis – how do guideline users use and interact with the Sentencing Council’s website? Part 1

Research – user testing of the sentencing guidelines: Part 2

Minutes of the Sentencing Council meeting on 20 October 2023.

Minutes of meeting: 20 October 2023

Minutes of the Sentencing Council meeting on 22 September 2023.

Minutes of meeting: 22 September 2023

The Council undertakes research and analysis to support the development and monitoring of sentencing guidelines and to ensure they are fit for purpose and meet the needs of guideline users.

Our analysis and research work is an integral part of the guideline development process. We draw on a range of different data sources, as well as undertaking our own research, both quantitative and qualitative, to inform our work.

This roundup summarises some of the research work recently undertaken or commissioned by the Council. We would like to thank all the participants who have contributed to this work, in particular the sentencers whose contributions have helped to make sure that the guidelines are informed by the experience and expertise of the judges and magistrates who use them.

We are always looking for new members for our ‘research pool’ to support our ongoing research. If you are willing to be contacted occasionally to participate in short research exercises, please fill in this short form. Or, to find out more, get in touch with us at research@sentencingcouncil.gov.uk.