Sentencing Act 2020

The Sentencing Act 2020 is a landmark Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act has 14 Parts and 29 Schedules. Parts 2 to 13 of the Act together make up a code called the “Sentencing Code”. The Sentencing Code is the law which contains the main sentencing regime in England and Wales.

Parliamentary passage
The Act was a Consolidation Bill as recommended by the Law Commission. It was introduced as a Bill in the House of Lords by Lord Keen of Elie, Advocate General for Scotland on 5 March 2020. The Bill was given a second reading in the Lords on 25 June 2020, had its order of commitment discharged on 25 July 2020, given a third reading and passed on 8 September 2020 by the Lords. The Bill was then introduced to the House of Commons by Robert Buckland, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on 9 September 2020. The Bill was given a second and third reading and passed on 30 September 2020. This was probably the only Bill of this size for a significant period of time to be passed by both Houses without any amendment being made. The Bill was supported and endorsed by many politicians, including most prominently Lord Judge, the former Lord Chief Justice, who commented about how it would improve the location of sentencing law in the United Kingdom for judges.

Sentencing Code
The Sentencing Code consolidates a plethora of legislation relating to sentencing and also sought to stamp out previous legislative ambiguities and inconsistencies. Many Acts were consolidated into and repealed as a consequence of the Sentencing Code.

The Sentencing Code has been amended since the enactment of the Sentencing Act 2020 by different acts, including, in particular, the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Section 3 of the PCSC inserted 'Harpers Law'—which requires a life sentence for manslaughter of an emergency worker, absent extraordinary circumstances—into the Sentencing Code. The Sentencing Code is due to be further amended by the Victims and Prisoners Bill, the Criminal Justice Bill and the Sentencing Bill, the latter of which will make whole life orders mandatory for certain offences.