§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to seek the standardisation of court sentences; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenOur proposals for achieving greater consistency in sentencing practice are set out in the White Paper "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public' (Cm 965), published on 6 February. Sentences need to take account of the differences in the circumstances of offences and offenders: the aim is consistency of approach, rather than uniformity of outcome.