Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has held with the Sentencing Council on the adequacy of sentencing guidelines for people who have purchased online videos of the graphic torture of animals abroad.

Ministers have not discussed the topic raised in this question with the Sentencing Council.

Sentencing guidelines are developed by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so. Where behaviours constitute a criminal offence, it is open to the Council to issue guidelines on factors that should be considered which may affect the sentence given. The Government cannot require the Council to develop or review particular guidelines.