Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance is issued to (1) judges, and (2) magistrates, relating to the length of time that should occur between conviction by the courts and the issuing of a final sentence.

The Criminal Procedure Rules require the court to pass sentence as soon as it is able to take into account the information that it needs for sentencing purposes. The information needed and the time taken to provide and consider it will depend upon the circumstances of the case.