Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will hold discussions with the Sentencing Council on the adequacy of the Sentencing Guidelines for voyeurism offences.

Sentencing guidelines are developed and reviewed by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so. The guidelines produced provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is.

As an independent body, the Council decides its own work plan and priorities. As such, the Government cannot require the Council to review particular guidelines, and it is at the Council’s discretion whether to review particular guidelines, in line with its published criteria for developing or revising guidelines. This is available on its website at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-and-the-council/about-the-sentencing-council/our-criteria-for-developing-or-revising.