Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of sentences for murder were calculated from the starting point of (a) 15 years, (b) 25 years, (c) 30 years and (d) a whole life tariff in each of the last three years.

All murder convictions must result in a life sentence. When a life sentence is imposed, the Judge will calculate the minimum term by selecting the appropriate starting point as set out in legislation – namely Schedule 21 of the Sentencing Act 2020. When sentencing adult offenders, the starting points are 15, 25, 30 years or a whole life order.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions, convictions, and sentences across various offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool. Please filter by the offence ‘murder’ in the sentence outcomes tab for details on the number of offenders sentenced for murder.

Statistical data on starting points for murder sentences, including domestic homicides, is not collected. The information may be held on individual court records, however interrogating these would incur disproportionate costs.