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The Sentencing Council for England and Wales promotes greater consistency in sentencing, whilst maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The Council produces guidelines on sentencing for the judiciary and aims to increase public understanding of sentencing.

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New judicial member appointed to the Council
23 April 2013

Mr Justice (John) Saunders has been appointed to the Council by the Lord Chief Justice with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor.

He replaces Lord Justice Treacy following his elevation to the Court of Appeal and has been appointed for three years.

Mr Justice Saunders was called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1972, and was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1991. He was appointed as a Recorder in 1990, and became a Senior Circuit Judge and the Recorder of Birmingham in 2004. In 2007 he was appointed as a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division. He was Presiding Judge on the South Eastern Circuit from 2009 – 2012.

New non-judicial appointments to the Council announced
08 April 2013

Following the announcement of a new judicial member to the Council last week, two new non-judicial members have now been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chancellor as a number of existing members reach the end of their three year tenure.

They are:

  • Javed Khan, Chief Executive of Victim Support; and
  • Michael Caplan, QC.

Lynne Owens, Chief Constable of Surrey Police, Julian Roberts, Professor of Criminology, and John Crawforth, OBE have been reappointed.

New judicial member appointed to the Council
04 April 2013

A new judicial member has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor.

Her Honour Judge Sarah Munro QC will be a representative from the Crown Court on the Council from 6 April 2013.

More information about Council members can be found here.

New contact details
27 March 2013

The Office of the Sentencing Council is now based at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Our new contact details can be found here.

Sentencing for environmental offences – consultation launched
14 March 2013

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on proposals for updating guidance for judges and magistrates when sentencing environmental offences.

Find out how to respond to the consultation.

Read the press release.

Read the summary announcement.