Home Department written question – answered at on 22 May 2002.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department
(1) when the Sentencing and Offences Unit was established;
(2) what the remit is of the Sentencing and Offences Unit;
(3) what the cost of the Sentencing and Offences Unit was in the last 12 months;
(4) how many members of staff are employed by the Sentencing and Offences Unit.
The Sentencing and Offences Unit (SOU) was formed in 1996 under the previous Conservative Government when parts of the previous C1 division (dealing with sentencing policy) and C4 division (dealing with policy on criminal offences) were merged. The Sentencing and Offences Unit reviews sentencing policy and aspects of the criminal law, including ensuring that the criminal law is sufficient for the purposes of opposing criminal activities and that there are appropriate penalties available to the courts. It scrutinises all proposals for new offences and penalties to ensure their proper formulation.
Major areas of work in which the unit is at present engaged include the preparation of final proposals for the comprehensive reform of sex offences; proposals to strengthen the Sex Offenders Act 1997; a review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974; preparation of final proposals for reform of the Offences Against the Person Act and the law on involuntary manslaughter and on corruption; and the implementation of sections 1–11 of Part I of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (on the spot penalties for disorderly behaviour).
The unit is responsible for a large amount of public and ministerial correspondence and parliamentary business on all aspects of sentencing and offences. During the period from
The provisional outturn operating costs in the financial year 2001–02 are expected to be approximately £1.4 million. This includes the cost of the secretariat for the Sentencing Advisory Panel.
There are 36 members of staff employed in the Sentencing and Offences Unit.
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