§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Attorney-General whether the Lord Chancellor has any proposals to eradicate any disparities in the sentencing of black and white defendants; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Attorney-GeneralIt is not for the Lord Chancellor or any other Minister to intervene in the sentencing of individual defendants. Sentencing in every case, except where mandatory sentences are provided by statute, is a matter of judicial discretion, in the light of the circumstances of each particular case and bearing in mind any guidelines which may have been laid down by the appellate courts. It is open to each convicted defendant to appeal against the sentence passed by the court if he or she is aggrieved by it.
§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Attorney-General how many representations the Lord Chancellor has received concerning current disparities in sentencing policy between black and white defendants, as outlined in the recent report by the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, a copy of which has been sent to him.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Lord Chancellor has received no representations from organisations other than the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, nor from individual members of the public, concerning the sentencing of black defendants. He is, however, meeting representatives of NACRO shortly to discuss its concerns on this and other issues outlined in NACRO's recent report.