We believe that it is appropriate and important for the judge to have some oversight. We are talking about situations in which people have committed a crime and been charged with it. If the judge accepts the Queen's evidence, it is appropriate that he is able to take it into account when determining the reduced sentence, as he will have had oversight over the whole hearing into the offence with which the person was charged.

Someone who agrees to give evidence under the provisions will not be offered a deal stating how much will be taken off their sentence; that will be determined at the end of the trial process. Obviously, if they plead guilty, the process will be pretty quick, but we do not want to be seen to wheel and deal on reducing the sentence before that point, and we feel that the judge's involvement is an important safeguard to that end.

Sentencing in this country is a matter for judges. That is why we have not gone down the route, as other jurisdictions have, of giving prosecutors such powers when they are trying to get people involved in proceedings. We cannot force judges to take assistance into account in all instances, because it is important that they hear the case and understand the nature of the offences in which a person has been involved. Normally, a judge will do so, and the   defendant can appeal the sentence if he believes that a relevant factor, such as Queen's evidence, has been ignored.

We are trying to make Queen's evidence much more transparent and accountable, and therefore much more used. In this country less than 1 per cent. of relevant cases involve Queen's evidence, whereas the figure is around 15 per cent. in Australia. However, we are mindful of the fact that we are talking about people who have committed offences to which they will, in most cases, have pleaded guilty. The judge must have the authority and power to deal with that as he sees fit at the time.