Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations his Department has received on strengthening sentencing guidelines for people using a mobile phone when driving.

The offence of using a mobile phone while driving risks harm to others and is wholly unacceptable in our society. Guidelines on sentencing are produced by the independent Sentencing Council, which was established to promote greater transparency and consistency in sentencing. The Council has a statutory duty to monitor the operation and effect of its guidelines.

The most recent statistics on sentencing for using or causing to use a mobile phone whilst driving can be viewed in the motoring data tool on the Ministry of Justice website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014