§ 17. Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the review of community sentences.
§ Mr. HowardI shall be publishing revised national standards for the supervision of offenders in the community early next year.
§ Mr. EvansI thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his response. Is he aware that many of my constituents fear that a number of convicted criminals who receive community sentences seem to be getting away with it? Will he give an assurance that, when the new guidelines are published, community sentences will become far stiffer? Currently, they may be seen as an affront to the police who have put so much time into the cases, and also to the victims of crime.
§ Mr. HowardI believe that my hon. Friend's views are widely shared. The revised national standards ban holidays abroad and require every probation service in the country to impose tough physical work. I think that that is exactly what my hon. Friend had in mind, and I share his views.