Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Sentencing: Attendance of Offenders

Tuesday 28 January 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial commitment to introduce legislation before summer to enable courts to order offender attendance at sentencing hearings.
  • Honorable Member acknowledges the need for a robust approach to address offenders who decline to attend sentencing hearings.
  • Government aims to clarify and legally enforce the expectation of offender attendance in sentencing hearings.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Anneliese Midgley Lab Knowsley
Justice & Courts
Context

The MP raised concerns about the impact of non-attendance at sentencing hearings on victims' families, referencing a specific case involving Cheryl Korbel's daughter who was murdered in 2022.

Question

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to enable courts to order the attendance of offenders at sentencing hearings. I thank the Secretary of State for that positive response, and I thank her and the Prime Minister for meeting me and my constituent Cheryl Korbel, the mother of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, the nine-year-old who was tragically murdered in 2022. Cheryl is pleased that the Government have committed to implementing Olivia’s law without delay. Can the Minister ensure that Cheryl is involved in the development of this law, placing victims and their families at the heart of the justice system?

Answer from Shabana Mahmood (The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice)

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work she is doing on behalf of her constituents. I was pleased to be able to discuss these matters with her. She is absolutely right, and it is crucial that we make progress in this area. We have committed to introducing that legislation before the summer, and I will, as I promised last week, consult Olivia’s family and the families of other victims for whom non-attendance at sentencing hearings has caused problems.

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Q2 Gregory Campbell DUP East Londonderry
Justice & Courts
Context

The MP highlighted the issue of defendants who are convicted but refuse to attend their sentencing hearings, causing additional trauma for victims' families.

Question

There are a small number of people who, through due process, appear in court and are convicted, but who decline to come up to the court room for sentencing. The Secretary of State has indicated her intention to move on this. Does she agree that the Government need to show a very robust approach, so that people who show disdain and contempt for the rule of law are shown that there is no room for manoeuvre and that they must and will appear in court?

Answer from Shabana Mahmood (The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice)

The hon. Member is right. It is already expected that defendants will attend sentencing hearings, but we know that some take the opportunity not to face the families of their victims, which causes huge trauma to some of the families. We will clarify and put on a statutory footing the expectation of attendance at sentencing hearings, along with sanctions for dealing with offenders who still, despite being compelled to attend court—even through the use of reasonable force—seek to disrupt hearings.

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