New legal requirement for Sentencing Council guidelines to be agreed by the Justice Secretary before they are issued

Lady Chief Justice will also need to explicitly approve any new guidelines

Part of Government’s Plan for Change to build public confidence in the justice system

The Sentencing Council will be unable to issue new guidelines without the explicit approval of the Justice Secretary, strengthening democratic oversight of the body. The approval of the Lady Chief Justice will also be required before new guidelines are issued.

Today’s news follows a disagreement between the Justice Secretary and Sentencing Council earlier this year over planned new guidelines which the Justice Secretary argued would result in “a clear example of differential treatment” and risked “undermining pub

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