Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the sentencing framework for perpetrators of coercive control.

The sentencing framework is kept under constant review by the Government. However, sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent courts in accordance with the sentencing guidelines, developed by the independent Sentencing Council.

The Government created the offence of Controlling and Coercive Behaviour in the Serious Crime Act 2015. Since the offence came into force in 2016, the number of people sentenced for this offence has consistently increased, nearing tenfold. The average custodial sentence length has also increased from 17.1 to 24.4 months.

In response to the independent Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review undertaken by Clare Wade KC, we have introduced legislation to create new statutory aggravating and mitigating factors for murders preceded by controlling and coercive behaviour.

The Sentencing Council have recently consulted on making a similar change to the manslaughter sentencing guideline. The Council have also introduced the Domestic Abuse Overarching Principles guideline, which came into force in May 2018. It identifies the principles relevant to the sentencing of cases involving domestic abuse, including the offence of controlling and coercive behaviour. The Council is planning to review this guideline in 2024.