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23 Feb 2010 : Column 70WH—continued

Parliament's role is to ensure that there is an appropriate framework of offences and penalties. In recent years, we have enacted a number of measures designed to deal
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more effectively with those whose driving puts others at serious risk. As the hon. Gentleman said, we have introduced the new offences of causing death by careless driving and causing death while driving unlicensed or uninsured. Those offences carry maximum penalties of five years' and two years' imprisonment respectively. We have also increased the maximum penalty for serious driving offences, including causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, from 10 to 14 years' imprisonment.

However, there is always more to do. Dangerous driving is still too prevalent, and we should not underestimate the devastating effect that bad driving can have on people's lives. We have listened to those who have campaigned for an increase in the maximum penalty for dangerous driving. When I first took up my post, I met the family of Cerys Edwards, a young child who had received very serious, nearly fatal injuries as a result of the actions of a dangerous driver. The family had been campaigning hard for a change in the legislation on dangerous driving. As a result of listening to those representations, we have announced that we intend to increase the maximum penalty for dangerous driving from two years' to five years' imprisonment. That will, of course, require primary legislation, and we will look to include an appropriate provision in a suitable Bill at the earliest possible opportunity in the parliamentary timetable.

Mr. Wilson: One thing that concerns my constituents is that when the Minister talks about a maximum sentence, it does not mean much, because someone pleading guilty automatically gets a third of the sentence off. Will the Minister make it clear to my constituents what a minimum sentence means?

Claire Ward: In many cases, these are minimum sentences rather than maximum sentences. The minimum sentence essentially becomes a starting point for the court to consider. As the hon. Gentleman said, the court must then look at the aggravating circumstances and any mitigating circumstances. One factor that a court will take into account in sentencing is whether the defendant has pleaded guilty and, if they have, at what stage they did so. There is a sliding scale of reductions. The Sentencing Guidelines Council has issued guidance to the courts on the level of discount to be applied. The sliding scale effectively means that the earlier the plea is changed to one of guilty, the greater the discount that the defendant should get. That is obviously to encourage defendants to come forward and enter a guilty plea, where it is appropriate for them to do so. That is intended to save victims and their families the ordeal of a trial and to reduce the cost to the justice system.

Mr. Wilson: Will the Minister clarify what that means in practical terms in relation to a two-year minimum sentence? Mitigating circumstances may have to be taken into account, which could mean a reduction in the minimum sentence. Furthermore, if someone pleads guilty, there will also be a third off. In fact, therefore, the two-year minimum sentence is not a minimum sentence at all, is it?


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Claire Ward: That depends on the court's sentencing and on whether it has taken into account the period for which a guilty plea has stood and how long the discount will be. The court will take such things into account before determining the sentence. One of the most important things about the Sentencing Guidelines Council is that it does not operate in a vacuum or in isolation; it consults the public to review the guidelines that it issues to the courts. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 is also due to replace the Sentencing Guidelines Council with the Sentencing Council, one of whose duties will be to have a much greater regard to the impact that sentences will have on victims and their families.

Sentencing guidelines must, of course, provide detailed guidance to courts on the level of sentencing that they should consider in respect of individual offences. We established the Sentencing Guidelines Council in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to promote consistency in sentencing. All courts must have regard to the council's guidelines. As I said, the most important change in the 2009 Act for many victims will be the requirement on the Sentencing Council to have regard to the impact that sentencing may have on victims.

None of those points about the Sentencing Council can, however, alter the fact that road traffic cases can be particularly difficult for the courts. That is because it is not always the worst transgression by a driver that has the most tragic consequences. Sometimes the consequences of a collision may be entirely disproportionate to the culpability of the offender. A relatively minor misdemeanour by a driver may have tragic consequences, whereas thoroughly reckless behaviour on the road may fortuitously result in little, if any, harm. The law therefore seeks to punish those who cause death or injury on the road in a way that is appropriate to the degree of blameworthiness on the part of the driver. Ultimately, it is for the prosecuting authorities to decide on the appropriate charge in each individual case and for the courts to set the sentence they believe to be appropriate in all the circumstances.

The hon. Gentleman also raised the issue of compensation in road traffic accidents. He is right that the criminal injuries compensation scheme does not compensate for bereavement caused as a result of culpable road traffic accidents. That is because the scheme's remit was never designed to cover such cases. The purpose of the CICS is to provide compensation to blameless persons who have sustained criminal injury. Overwhelmingly, it provides support to victims of crimes of violence. The scheme states that a personal injury is not a criminal injury where the injury is attributable to the use of a vehicle, except where the vehicle was used so as deliberately to inflict, or attempt to inflict, injury on any person.

It is also true that the courts do not generally have powers to make compensation orders in respect of road traffic accidents. Compensation orders were first introduced in 1972 and have been an important sentencing option for the courts. However, compensation in criminal cases is not provided primarily as a means of making good the losses of the victim, but as an element in the overall punishment of the offender and to provide a degree of financial recompense to the victim. A compensation order is a sentence of the court, like a fine, albeit one
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that brings home to the offender the impact of their offence against the victim and which provides at least some recompense.

Road traffic accidents, however, are generally excluded by statute from the scope of compensation orders. The courts can make an order in respect of injury or loss following a road traffic accident only if the loss involves damage to the victim's property when it was not in their possession or if the offender was uninsured and no compensation is payable under any arrangements to which the Secretary of State is a party. In practice, the Crown Prosecution Service will not ask for a compensation order if the Motor Insurers Bureau will meet the claim. The MIB is a non-profit-making organisation set up by
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the motor insurance industry to compensate victims of motor accidents that involve uninsured and untraced drivers. It is a required scheme under European regulations.

That statutory exclusion has existed since 1972. It probably arises from a need to make it clear that third-party insurance is the first port of call for any compensation claim arising from a motor accident and from the fact that many road traffic accidents involve complex quantum and liability issues, which would not necessarily have been settled by parallel criminal proceedings.

2 pm

Sitting adjourned without Question put (Standing Order No. 10(11)).


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