Sexual offences guidelines : consultation, first report of session 2013-14, report, together with formal minutes

Under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the Justice Select Committee must be consulted on proposed draft sentencing guidelines by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

The proposed guidelines will replace the existing Definitive Guideline published by the Council in 2007.The proposed guidelines cover 54 very varied offences and proposes a variety of changes to how offending is dealt with by the courts.

The offences fall mainly within the Sexual Offences Act 2003 but also include some offences in the Criminal Justice Act 1998 and Protection of Children Act 1978.Unlike previous guidelines the cost-effectiveness of different types of sentences in particular the use of community sentences has not been undertaken for this guideline.

The starting point for most of the offences within the guidelines is a custodial sentence and the Committee believes that this is appropriated in most cases and reflects public opinion.

The Committee considers the following points to be the most important: psychological harm, good character and remorse, separation age ranges for offences against children, consistency of sentencing across similar offences, use of narratives, and care workers.