§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the light of the present wide discrepancies in the level of sentences given for non-criminal minor offences compared to those for serious violent criminal activities, whether he will appoint a committee of investigation to examine to what extent the present system operates on a basis that the penalty should fit the crime and to consider any steps that could be taken to change the present situation.
§ Mr. MayhewNo. Within the limits set by Parliament, sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts in the exercise of their judicial discretion.