Sentencing Council Launches Consultation on Sentencing Guidelines for Health and Safety Offences
The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its draft new Sentencing Guidelines for health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter, food safety and hygiene offences.
The draft new guidelines, provided for judges and magistrates to use when sentencing, cover a wide range of circumstances and are being introduced due to a lack of comprehensive guidance in relation to these offences.
In particular, while there is a guideline covering corporate manslaughter and fatal health and safety offences, there is no specific guidance on sentencing non-fatal health and safety offences or food safety offences.
The review of these guidelines has been prompted in part due to concerns that some sentences imposed for these types of offences have been too low – particularly for large organisations convicted of the most serious health and safety offences.
The Sentencing Council is therefore proposing to increase sentence levels in such situations to ensure sentences are proportionate to the seriousness of the offence while, as required by law, taking account of the financial circumstances of the offender, which for offending organisations would be based mainly on its turnover.
A key aim of the revised guidelines is to not only punish offenders, but to also deter others from committing similar crimes through a motivation of financial benefit by saving money at the expense of safety. It is intended that fines be big enough to have a real economic impact to any offending organisation in order to highlight the importance of achieving a safe environment for those affected by its activities.
Sentencing Council member Michael Caplan QC said:
“We want to ensure that these crimes don’t pay. They can have extremely serious consequences and businesses that put people at risk by flouting their responsibilities are undercutting those that maintain proper standards and do their best to keep people safe.
“Our proposals will help ensure a consistent approach to sentencing, allowing fair and proportionate sentences across the board, with some of the most serious offenders facing tougher penalties.”
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