Children of mothers in prison and the right to family life: The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill Contents

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Annex: Amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

Amendment 1: Requirement for a pre-sentence report when sentencing a primary carer

The amendment inserts a new sub-section (3A) and (5) into section 30 Sentencing Act 2020:

“After clause 130, insert a new clause 130A–

“Chapter 3–Sentencing of Primary Carers

Clause 130A–Pre-sentence report requirements

(1)Section 30 of the Sentencing Act 2020 shall be amended as follows.

(2)After sub-section (3), insert -

“(3A) A court must make inquiries to establish whether the offender is a primary carer for a child.

(3B) If the court establishes that the offender is a primary carer for a child, unless there are exceptional circumstances before sentencing the offender the court must obtain a pre-sentence report containing information to enable the court to make an assessment of the impact of a custodial sentence on the child.”

(3)After sub-section (4) insert—

“(5) In this section—

(a) ‘child’ means a person under the age of 18; and

(b) ‘primary carer’ means a person who has primary or substantial care responsibilities for a child.”.

Explanation: This clause amends section 30 Sentencing Act 2020 to make clear the requirement for a sentencing judge to have a copy of a pre-sentence report, considering the impact of a custodial sentence on the dependent child, when sentencing a primary carer of a child.

Amendment 2: Obligation on the sentencing judge to state how she has considered the consequences for the child in the sentencing remarks

This amendment would amend section 52 of the Sentencing Act 2020 which sets out the duty on the court to give reasons for and to explain the effect of a sentence—

“After clause 130, insert a new clause 130A–

“Chapter 3–Sentencing of Primary Carers

Clause 130A–Duty to give reasons for the sentence

(1)Section 52 of the Sentencing Act 2020 shall be amended as follows.

(2)After sub-section (9), insert -

“Offenders who are primary carers

(10) A court sentencing a primary carer for a child must state how the best interests of the child were considered in determining the sentence (including, if appropriate, consideration of the views of the child).

(11) A court sentencing a pregnant woman must state how the best interests of the baby were considered in determining the sentence.

(12) In this section—

(a) ‘child’ means a person under the age of 18; and

(b) ‘primary carer’ means a person who has primary or substantial care responsibilities for a child.”.

Explanation: This clause amends section 52 Sentencing Act 2020 to require a sentencing judge to state how the best interests of a child were considered when sentencing a primary carer of a dependent child.

Amendment 3: Welfare of child to be a distinct consideration when sentencing a primary carer

“After clause 130, insert a new clause 130A–

“Chapter 3–Sentencing of Primary Carers

Clause 130A–Restrictions on imposing imprisonment on a primary carer

(1)After section 227 of the Sentencing Act 2020, insert–

“Section 227A: Restrictions on imposing imprisonment on a primary carer

(1) This section applies where a court is considering imposing a custodial sentence on—

(a) a primary carer for a child, or

(b) a pregnant woman.

(2) The sentencing court must—

(a) consider the impact of a custodial sentence on the child or unborn child, and

(b) presume (subject to victim impact and any other sentencing considerations) that a non-custodial sentence is in the best interests of the child or unborn child.

(4) In this section—

(a) ‘child’ means a person under the age of 18, and

(b) ‘primary carer’ means a person who has primary or substantial care responsibilities for a child.”.

Explanation: This clause reflects the requirement for sentencing judge to consider the impact of a custodial sentence on a child when sentencing a primary carer of a dependent child.

Amendment 4: Welfare of child to be a distinct consideration when determining bail for a primary carer

“After clause 43, insert a new clause 43A–

“Bail

Clause 43A–Bail and primary carers

(1)Section 4 of the Bail Act 1976 is amended as follows.

(2)After sub-section (9), insert -

“(10) Where a court determines whether to grant bail in criminal proceedings to a person to whom this section applies who is a primary carer for a child or pregnant, the court must—

(a) consider the impact of not granting bail on the child or unborn child; and

(b) presume (subject to victim impact or other relevant considerations) that it is in the best interests of the child or unborn child for bail to be granted.

(11) In this section—

(a) ‘child’ means a person under the age of 18, and

(b) ‘primary carer’ means a person who has primary or substantial care responsibilities for a child.”.

Explanation: This clause reflects the requirement for judge to consider the impact of not granting bail on a child when determining, in criminal proceedings, whether to grant bail to a primary carer of a dependent child.

Amendment 5: Data Collection on children of prisoners

“After clause 130, insert a new clause 130A–

“Chapter 3–Sentencing of Primary Carers

Clause 130A–Data collection in relation to primary carers

(1)The Secretary of State shall collect and publish annual data identifying—

(a)how many prisoners are the primary carers of a child,

(b)how many children have a primary carer in custody, and

(c)the ages of those children.

(2)In this section—

(a)‘child’ means a person under the age of 18, and

(b)‘primary carer’ means a person who has primary or substantial care responsibilities for a child.””

Explanation: This imposes a requirement on the Secretary of State to collect and publish data on the number of prisoners who are the primary carers of a child and the number of children who have a primary carer in custody.