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7.30 pm
The Government were wrong in 1986 to see a more active role on guidance by the Court of Appeal and a right of appeal by the Attorney-General as alternatives. In our view, one should buttress the other. In its guidance role, the Court of Appeal should, as many have proposed, work through the criminal calendar and provide clear guidance on each of the main offences. It should publish such guidance in draft, encourage informed professional and public debate on it and then promulgate it.
Some judges and practitioners have said that that would be difficult; that domestic burglary, for example, covers a wide range of actions and of culpability. So it does, but that does not mean that the range is incapable of analysis and categorisation. After all, rape also covers a wide range of culpability, and on that the Court of Appeal has issued proper guidance.
In addition to the promulgation of guidance, much improved arrangements need to be put in hand to enhance the memory of the criminal justice system. I have often heard magistrates complain that they are effectively sentencing people in the dark, with little or no systematic feedback on the effect of their sentencing decisions.
My final point is about Scotland. The Scottish legal system is different and it is entirely right that its development should be determined by what is right for Scotland, but too often we ignore better practice there, for example on delays in getting cases to court. The White Paper on crime and punishment in Scotland, Cm 3302, has two proposals in chapter 8 that are fully consistent with our new clauses for England and Wales. In 1995,
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In paragraph 8.23, the Government proposed to extend to the prosecution the right of appeal in all summary cases. I am aware that the definition of "summary" is different from that in England, but it is very much wider than in cases that simply end up in the Crown court. That intention has now been put into effect by a negative statutory instrument, which was approved without any Division in the House.
Those are persuasive examples of why such provision should be made in England and Wales. We need a criminal justice system that has more memory, that has greater and more effective progression, and one that above all ensures greater consistency. When practitioners express concern that the public do not understand how the courts operate, they should bear it in mind that what the public inevitably latch on to is not the average practice in sentencing, but the aberrant practices in sentencing, which too often excite--quite rightly--great public concern, and about which very little can be done.
The Attorney-General has an important role to play, which we wish to see extended, but we believe that there is an overwhelming case for the Court of Appeal to extend its role within the framework that Parliament has laid down for sentencing and to establish effective sentencing guidelines and then ensure that they are properly monitored and put into practice.
Mr. Alex Carlile:
The issue is whether the Court of Appeal, criminal division, should have a statutory obligation to promulgate sentencing guidelines for the whole calendar of cases coming before the Crown courts.
The hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw) was, perhaps, less than generous to the Court of Appeal in his criticism of the guidelines that it has given hitherto. It is instructive to spend, as some of us have occasionally, a day, or nearly a day, sitting in one of the courts of the Court of Appeal, criminal division, and hear the throughput of cases. First, they work under considerable pressure. It is quite impossible for them to consider each case as a guideline case.
Secondly, the courts work extremely fast. In most appeals against sentence, they are fully apprised of the facts of the case before the appeal is heard and are usually able to put propositions to counsel appearing for an appellant at the beginning of the hearing and come to a rapid conclusion. Thirdly, in most of the cases that they hear, the submissions that are put before them are subjective rather than objective. Many sentence appeals turn on subjective issues arising from the circumstances of the offender perhaps more than from the circumstances of the offence.
The Court of Appeal, under its current procedure, is not really equipped by the nature of its hearings to deal with the issue of guidelines on every offence in every category that comes before the Crown court. It is a demand-led place. It has recognised that its role is to issue guidelines. I suggest to the House that it has done so conscientiously on a very wide range of issues. Drug offences are extremely difficult for judges and, indeed, for defence counsel, to deal with because they cover such a huge range. For example, the supplying of a class B drug can range from offences that are easy to sentence--the
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Those are offences that courts find very difficult to sentence, and it is helpful to courts throughout the country that the Court of Appeal has issued widespread and detailed guidelines on them. Guidelines have been issued on sexual offences, on offences involving the use of arms and on a wide range of other offences coming before the courts.
I agree with the hon. Member for Blackburn that the Court of Appeal could issue guidelines on the full calendar coming before the criminal courts. In my view it would be desirable that it did so. My view is that the Court of Appeal, provided that it is given the resources, and that is a real issue, would welcome the opportunity to set out in written form, after due debate, each year or periodically, the range that one could expect given certain facts.
Before we could reasonably expect the Court of Appeal to do that, however, having regard to its very considerable work load, it would be necessary to ensure that the assistance that is now given to the Court of Appeal in the form of professional, clerical additions was expanded. Young lawyers are now being appointed to assist the Court of Appeal in preparing cases. The Government would also have to consider creating an increased number of Lords Justices to enable this work to be done. If the Court of Appeal was to promulgate a volume of guidelines periodically, we could not reasonably expect it to do so in its spare time, for it does not have any spare time at present.
Lord Taylor, the last Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lane, his predecessor, and, of course, Lord Bingham, the present Lord Chief Justice, have shown total willingness to issue guidelines in appropriate cases, and if this new duty were imposed on them by Parliament, they would take it on themselves and carry it out with great efficiency, but they would have to be given the resources to do so.
The more orderly promulgation of such guidelines by the Court of Appeal would make a daily contribution to consistency in sentencing in courts around the country. However, I hope that we all agree that sentencing should never be uniform--that reflects the point that was made earlier about regional variations in sentencing. The stealing of sheep in Montgomeryshire is an extremely serious offence, and one would expect it to be severely punished.
Mr. Carlile:
It is, as the hon. Gentleman said. I have the honour to be the honorary recorder of Hereford, which has a tough record on sentencing. It is an orderly city because offences are dealt with efficiently--I am referring not to my conduct, but to that of the judges who sit there more regularly. The sentences that are passed in Hereford reflect the needs of that city. Whether in Hereford,
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Mr. Straw:
Is there a connection between the tough sentences passed by the Crown court in Hereford and the orderly conduct of its citizens?
Mr. Carlile:
I would not make so bold as to answer that question with a yes. However, I would hazard a guess that if people in a small city such as Hereford--it is much easier in a small city--or in a city such as Chester, which I know extremely well because I practised law there for many years, know that the judges before whom they could appear are likely to be pretty tough on, for example, house burglary, the chances are that they will either do less house burglary or will go and do it in Blackburn. I hope that they will not take the latter approach, but it is a possibility and it argues for greater consistency in sentencing while retaining variation between areas.
The Attorney-General has the power to refer sentences to the Court of Appeal when he is advised or perceives that they are unduly lenient. Many of us were opposed to the introduction of that power. I am not too proud to say that I was wrong to oppose it when it was introduced, because it has worked well. I am pleased to see the Attorney-General in his seat. He has exercised that power more frequently in recent years than in the past. It has made a contribution to the production of guideline cases. I believe that I am right in saying that more guidelines have emerged from Attorney-General's references than from any other category of cases that one could define.
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