§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Solicitor-General on how many occasions in each of the last five years for which figures are available her Department was unable to complete the usual procedures in handling requests for referral of a sentence to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue lenience within the required time limit. [53396]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 2 May 2002]: The Attorney and I have been able to consider and take a decision in all cases received at his office within the time limit.
§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Solicitor-General what deadlines and time limits exist on the referral of sentences to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue lenience; and if she will make a statement. [53397]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 2 May 2002]: The Attorney-General has the power (under section 35 and 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988) to refer a sentence for a specified category of offences, to the Court of Appeal for review, if it appears to be not merely lenient but unduly so. Schedule 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 specifies that notice of an application for leave to refer a case to the Court of Appeal shall be given to the Registrar of Criminal Appeals within 28 days from the day on which the sentence, or the last of the sentences, in the case was passed. This period cannot be extended.
§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the procedure undertaken by her Department upon receipt of a request to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue lenience. [53398]
§ Solicitor General[holding answer 2 May 2002]: The Attorney receives requests to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue lenience from two sources.
The first source is the prosecuting authority (such as the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office etc.), which conducted the case against the offender. The written request is accompanied by various documents. These invariably include, hut are not limited to, the following:
- 1. Relevant case papers, including material obtained for the purpose of the sentence, such as pre-sentence reports, the offender's antecedents, if any, etc.;
- 2. A summary of the prosecution's case, the defence mitigation and the learned Judge's sentencing remarks.
- 3. Relevant authorities, that is decisions in previous cases.
- 4. Advice from Treasury Counsel, not involved in the prosecution of the case.
The Attorney gives due consideration to the information and takes into account Counsel's advice. He is however not bound to follow the advice Counsel offers. The Attorney also receives requests for referral to the Court of Appeal from members of the public and also Members of this House. In such circumstances the relevant prosecutorial authority is approached and is required to provide the above stated documents.
§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Solicitor-General how many requests to refer sentences to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue lenience her Department 9W has received in each of the last five years for which records are available from (a) the CPS and (b) other sources. [53445]
§ Solicitor General[holding answer 2 May 2002]: Relevant records are only available for the year 2000 onwards. The following figures are available. These figures represent the number of offenders whose cases were referred to the Attorney General's office on the grounds of undue leniency:
Year CPS Other sources 2000 136 27 2001 226 49
§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Solicitor-General how many sentences have been referred to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue lenience following representations from(a) the CPS and (b) other sources in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [53444]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 2 May 2002]: Relevant records are only available for the year 2000 onwards. The following figures are available. These figures represent the number of offenders whose cases were referred to the Court of Appeal.
CPS Other sources 2000 87 6 2001 136 18