The Sentencing Council has brought into effect new plea sentencing guidance that set out the principles when reducing a sentence following admission of guilt
New sentencing guidance has been released relating to reducing a sentence in the event of a guilty plea. The guidance, which was released on 1 June 2017, will cover courts across England and Wales and could provide flexibility for those facing health and safety prosecutions.
Magistrates’ courts as well as Crown Court will be covered by the new guidance which will directly impact cases were a guilty plea is indicated at the first stage of proceedings. The guidance states at this point a reduction of one-third should be made (subject to the exceptions in Section F). If a plea is indicated after the first stage of proceedings, the court can pass sentence on a decreasing scale from one-quarter to a maximum of one-tenth on the first day of the trial. The time when the guilty plea is first entered should be taken into account.
Exception F
Section F is particularly useful for the construction industry as it provides flexibility for health and safety charges when it comes to a reduction for guilty pleas. This is because a defendant will often need to gain legal advice and expert evidence before entering a plea.
The Exception F states: “Where the sentencing court is satisfied that there were particular circumstances which significantly reduced the defendant’s ability to understand what was alleged or otherwise made it unreasonable to expect the defendant to indicate a guilty plea sooner than was done, a reduction of one-third should still be made.
“In considering whether this exception applies, sentencers should distinguish between cases in which it is necessary to receive advice and/or have sight of evidence in order to understand whether the defendant is in fact and law guilty of the offence(s) charged, and cases in which a defendant merely delays guilty plea(s) in order to assess the strength of the prosecution evidence and the prospects of conviction or acquittal.”
