The main elements of the Bill are:

• Reform of some aspects of the criminal law on homicide.  The detail of this depends on the outcome of our current review which is considering Law Commission recommendations for improvements to the partial defences of provocation and diminished responsibility, complicity in relation to murder, and infanticide. 

• Increase provisions in courts for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including witnesses in cases involving guns and other offensive weapons, by amending and extending special measures such as live video links and screens around witness boxes.

• Prevent criminals from profiting from books and other publications about their crimes through the introduction of a civil recovery scheme 

• Strengthening data protection laws through the audit powers of the Information Commissioner;

• Subject to Government’s consideration of the conclusions of the Sentencing Commission Working Group chaired by Lord Justice Gage,  establish a structured sentencing framework and a Sentencing Commission to enable better alignment of the demands and resources for correctional services.

The main benefits of the Bill are:

• Increased public confidence in the criminal law and the fairness and effectiveness of the wider justice system;

• Giving vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, in particular in respect of gang violence, the best possible protection, right from the early stages of the criminal justice process;

• A structured, coherent and transparent sentencing framework that will allow the drivers of demand on prison and probation resources to be addressed and managed in a more consistent and predictable manner. A Sentencing Commission would monitor and assess all the drivers of prison population - including sentencing practice, release and recall practice, changes to existing processes and new policy, including legislation;

• Stronger protection of personal information from unlawful or accidental disclosure.

The Sentencing Commission Working Group published its consultation paper ‘A Structured Sentencing Framework and Sentencing Commission’ on 31 March. It is available at the Judiciary of England and Wales website. If you would like to comment on these proposals, you can do so at sentencing-consultation@justice.gsi.gov.uk by the closing date of 2 June. The consultation takes forward one of the recommendations made by Lord Carter of Coles in his Review of Prisons (Ministry of Justice, December 2007).

In his Review, Lord Carter recommended a further expansion of the prison estate to better align the supply of, and demand for, prison places.  In responding to the Review, the Government has committed to increasing overall capacity to 96,000 by 2014. This will include up to 3 Titan prisons, about which the Government will shortly publish a consultation paper.

In addition to the proposals in the Bill, the Government is also undertaking the following activity:

• The measures to strengthen the protection of vulnerable and intimated witnesses are part of the Government’s wider programme to tackle gun and gang related crime set out in the Home Office’s February 2008 Violent Crime Action Plan.

• The Prime Minister has asked Dr Mark Walport (a Director of the Wellcome Trust) and Richard Thomas (the Information Commissioner) to conduct an independent review of the framework for the use of information in the private and public sector. The review has already consulted on the use and sharing of personal information in the public and private sectors and is expected to report shortly.

• As part of its review of the law on homicide, the Government has been consulting with key stakeholders, both inside and outside the criminal justice system, to seek their views on the Law Commission’s recommendations in this area. Subject to the outcome of the review, draft clauses will be published for consultation in the summer.

• Criminal memoirs - The Government consulted on ‘Making sure that crime doesn’t pay’ in 2006/2007. A summary of responses and the Government’s proposals for the way ahead will be published shortly.

• Victims Advocates – The Government is committed to providing appropriate support, information and a voice in court for relatives in murder and manslaughter cases. Ministers are currently considering options for developing work tested in five Victim Advocate pilot crown courts. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is already taking forward elements of the scheme for which it is responsible. The CPS Victim Focus initiative ensures the CPS meets with family members and the prosecutors offer to read out family any impact statements in court.