Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the unduly lenient sentence scheme to certain cases tried at Magistrates Courts.

The Government is considering further expansion of the unduly lenient sentencing scheme, to ensure it covers offences that are of particular concern to the public. We recently added further terrorism offences to the scheme.

Given that the scheme requires a reference by the Attorney General to the Court of Appeal, it is right that the scheme is focused on the more serious offences sentenced in the Crown Court. As a result, we have no immediate plans to expand the scope of the scheme to cases sentenced in the Magistrates’ Court.