Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of the offence of causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs since 2016; and how many such people were imprisoned for the maximum length of time stipulated for that offence.

The number of convictions for drink driving in England and Wales can be found in the motoring data tool in the annual criminal justice system statistics publication at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2016 Convictions in Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the relative devolved administrations.

The maximum custodial sentence for the offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving is 5 years’ imprisonment and for causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs is 14 years’ imprisonment.

Since 2010 court data indicates that nine offenders have received prison sentences of over 4 years for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

In 2016, no offenders received sentences of more than 10 years for causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs.

Court proceedings data for England and Wales for 2017 are planned for publication in May 2018.