§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Solicitor-General when she last considered extending the 28-day period for references back to the Crown Prosecution Service of unduly lenient sentences: and what her conclusions were. [55081]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe Criminal Justice Act 1988 (schedule 3) prescribes that notice of an application for leave to refer a case to the Court of Appeal, under section 36 of the same Act. shall be given within 28 days from the day on which the sentence was passed. Legislation would he required to amend this time limit.
§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Solicitor-General how many sentence referrals to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue lenience have resulted in sentences being increased in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [53399]
§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 2 May 2002]: The following figures are available. These figures represent the number of offenders whose cases were referred to the Court of Appeal:
Number of: Year1 References to Court of Appeal Sentences increased 1997 70 47 1998 96 69 1999 88 51 2000 93 264 2001 154 271 1 January to 31 December 2 There are still cases from 2000 and 2001, which are yet to be heard by the Court of Appeal