Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many times the Law Officers have referred a criminal sentence to the Court of Appeal for review because it was felt to be unduly lenient during the last twelve months.

In the year to 31^st December 2014, the Law Officers personally considered 469 cases and referred 128 offenders to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. 86% of those offenders had their sentences increased, which included some of the most serious violent and sexual offences, including murder, rape and sexual assault. The full statistics for 2015 will be published early next year.