Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill
View the latest information on this bill on Parliament's website.
The bill was presented to Parliament on 21 June 2011.
The bill is wide-ranging concerning the provision of legal aid, funding and costs in civil and criminal proceedings, as well as varied provisions relating to sentencing of offenders, licence and bail and the treatment of persons detained in prisons and other institutions. The bill also seeks to create new offences of threatening with a weapon in public or on school premises.
Legal aid provisions
JUSTICE opposes the cuts to legal aid and assistance which lie behind many of the enabling provisions of the legal aid part of this bill and the relevant schedules. These proposals were rushed; thought up before a new government had time to understand existing provision and need as much of a pause as did the proposed legislation for the NHS.
Sentencing provisions
We welcome some of the Bill's reforms, for example relating to the remand and cautioning of children and to suspended sentences. However, we are concerned that other of the sentencing provisions are driven by 23% budget cuts at the Ministry of Justice and the desire for 'tough on crime' headlines rather than a coherent strategy to reduce offending and make improvements to the criminal justice system.
Category
Briefings
Published
17 November 2011