| answer text |
<p>This government is serious about fighting crime, protecting the public and creating
a criminal justice system that people have confidence in. Sentencing plays a crucial
role in this: it is one of the key ways through which the public, victims, and offenders
see justice being done, and this government is clear that sentencing must be commensurate
with the severity of the crime committed.</p><p>On the 9<sup>th</sup> March the government
introduced the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC Bill). This legislation
will bring forward the new, smarter approach to sentencing laid out in the Sentencing
White Paper published in September 2020.</p><p>Serious sexual and violent offenders
must spend as much of their sentence behind bars as possible in order to reflect the
severity of their crimes. The PCSC Bill will:</p><ul><ul><li>End automatic halfway
release from prison for an additional cohort of serious sexual and violent offenders;</li><li>Make
a Whole Life Order the starting point for the premeditated murder of a child, as well
as allowing judges to hand out this maximum punishment to 18-20 year olds in exceptional
cases;</li><li>Introduce a new power to prevent the automatic early release of prisoners
who become a significant public protection concern while in custody; and</li><li>Double
the maximum penalty for assaulting an emergency worker.</li></ul></ul><p> </p><p>Delivering
public protection and ensuring that sentencing is commensurate with the severity of
the crime is not just about better use of custody. The PCSC Bill will make community
sentences more effective so that they offer an appropriate level of punishment but
also address the underlying drivers of offending, by:</p><ul><ul><li>Piloting a problem-solving
court approach for certain community and suspended sentence orders;</li><li>Improving
national consistency for adult Out of Court Disposals; and</li><li>Extending the use
of Electronic Monitoring.</li></ul></ul><p> </p><p>The government is pleased that
the PCSC Bill was given a Second Reading on 16<sup>th</sup> March by a large majority.
As we are approaching the end of the current session, the House of Commons agreed
to carry over consideration of the Bill to the next session. Given the size of the
Bill, it is right to allow time for MPs to consider the detail before starting their
line-by-line scrutiny.</p>
|
|
