HL Deb 02 June 2003 vol 648 cc114-5WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they consider that, as a matter of constitutional principle, it is within the exclusive province of the judiciary, free of interference by the executive, to interpret prescribed sentencing guidelines and apply them to the circumstances of the individual case so as to ensure the proportionality of the sentence to those circumstances. [HL2835]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal:

The imposition of any sentence in any individual case is a matter for the trial judge, acting within the statutory framework which Parliament has laid down and observing any relevant guidelines or precedents. The sentences passed in individual cases ae not a matter for Ministers, subject to the right of the Attorney-General to refer certain cases to the Court of Appeal if he believes the sentences passed are unduly lenient.

Sentencing policy more generally is a matter on which the Government is entitled to take and express a view, and on which Parliament may legislate if it thinks fit.