The Sentencing Advisory Panel has today published its first advice to the Court of Appeal. The Panel proposes that the Court of Appeal should issue a sentencing guideline on environmental offences involving

air or water pollution;

the illegal deposit, recovery or disposal of waste (including fly-tipping);

the illegal abstraction of water; and

failure to meet packaging, recycling and recovery obligations.

The Panel is aware of public concern about the impact of these offences on the environment, and about the need for effective sentencing. In particular, companies may fail to comply with their environmental responsibilities if it costs them less to pay the penalty for breaking the law than it would to install proper safeguards.

Individual judges and magistrates often have little experience of dealing with these offences, and the Panel believes that guidance from the Court of Appeal would help to achieve greater consistency.

• In its advice, the Panel seeks to: v clarify the sentencing principles for environmental offences;
• help the courts towards consistency in assessing the seriousness of an individual offence, by identifying the relevant aggravating and mitigating factors; and
• provide guidance on the choice of sentence and on setting the appropriate level of fine.

Notes for editors

1. The Sentencing Advisory Panel is an independent advisory and consultative body constituted under sections 80 and 81 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. It started work on 1 July 1999. Its function is to provide fully researched, objective advice to the Court of Appeal to assist the Court when it frames or revises sentencing guidelines. (See Home Office news release 193/99.)

2. The Court of Appeal issues sentencing guidelines for the criminal courts. The Crime and Disorder Act placed a new duty on the Court to consider framing or revising guidelines whenever it is considering an appeal against sentence.

3. Exercising his power under section 81(3) of the Crime and Disorder Act, the Home Secretary directed the Sentencing Advisory Panel on 29 July 1999 to propose to the Court of Appeal that it should frame a sentencing guideline on environmental offences. The Panel issued a public consultation paper on this topic on 6 October 1999. (See Press Notice SAP 2/99.) The Panel has subsequently issued consultation papers on offences involving offensive weapons (10 November 1999 - press notice SAP 3/99); racially aggravated offences (16 February 2000 - press notice SAP 1/00); and on the importation and possession of opium (18 February 2000 - press notice SAP 2/00).

4. Copies of the proposal may be obtained from: Gareth Sweny, Sentencing Advisory Panel, Room 4.71, 50 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AT (telephone 0171 273 3046). The proposal is also available on the Panel's website: http://www.sentencing-advisory-panel.gov.uk/