HM Government

New statistics released today show the Attorney General’s Office has helped more victims and their families get justice than ever before, after 141 criminals had their sentences increased under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme in 2016.

The ULS scheme allows victims of crime, prosecutors and members of the public to ask for certain sentences to be reviewed. The Attorney or Solicitor General then asks the Court of Appeal to review the sentence to have it increased if they believe the Court made an error in sentencing.

32 criminals, including an arsonist, someone carrying a firearm and 2 men found guilty of child neglect, all had their community sentence quashed and replaced with an immediate custodial sentence. Of these, 17 sex offenders who originally escaped prison are now serving time behind bars.

1 rapist and 1 attempted murderer had their determinate sentence replaced with a life sentence and now can only be released with permission from the Parole Board.

The Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC MP said:

“The Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme allows victims of crime, their families and the public to challenge sentences that they believe are too low, and last year we saw a record number of sentences increased.

“A sentencing exercise is not an exact science and in the vast majority of cases, judges get it right. The scheme is available to ensure that the Solicitor General and I can independently review those cases where there may have been an error in the sentencing decision.”

From 8 August, the scheme will cover an additional 19 terror-related offences including supporting extremist organisations, encouraging acts of terror or failing to disclose information about a terrorist attack. This extension is a first step to extending the scheme even further.

In 2016, 837 referrals were received by the Attorney General’s Office, a 17% increase from the previous year. The Attorney and Solicitor General referred 190 cases to the Court of Appeal that they thought needed looking at again, compared to 135 in 2015.

Of the 141 offenders who had their sentences increased, these related to crimes in the following categories:

141 cases resulting in sentence increases is a small proportion of the 80,000 Crown Court cases heard each year, but the ULS scheme is there to allow adjustment of those sentences where an increase is warranted.

The scheme was brought about after the public outcry that happened after the 1986 Ealing Vicarage rape case where 21 year old Jill Saward was brutally raped by a gang of robbers at her father’s vicarage.

BT has put forward an offer to voluntarily provide this service across the country, which would largely be delivered by Openreach. The offer has been received after the government committed to introduce a Universal Service Obligation (USO) through regulation to give every home and business in the UK the right to request a high speed connection of at least 10 Megabits per second (Mbps). That’s the speed that will meet the typical needs of a family for them to be able to stream films, carry out video conferencing and browse the web at the same time.

The BT proposal would mean many premises will receive substantially more than 10Mbps – homes and businesses are also expected receive connections more quickly than could be delivered under a regulatory approach. The Government will now consider this offer alongside a consultation on the regulatory USO – which is being launched today.

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said:

The government is taking action to ensure that people everywhere in the UK can get a decent broadband connection as soon as possible. We warmly welcome BT’s offer and now will look at whether this or a regulatory approach works better for homes and businesses.

Whichever of the two approaches we go with in the end, the driving force behind our decision making will be making sure we get the best deal for consumers.

The communications regulator, Ofcom, has advised that 10Mbps, with quality requirements to limit delays and support uploading content as well as downloading it, meeting the needs of a typical household. It will also provide improved connectivity for many small businesses. A regulatory USO would provide a safety net, meaning that fast and reliable broadband was available to everyone, regardless of where they lived. The consultation being launched today outlines detailed proposals for how this new right to request a connection would work in practice.

This will help Government take a decision on the best way to get better broadband in hard to reach areas. No decision has been taken, and the Government will carefully weigh the merits of the two approaches. Unlike under a regulatory USO, the proposal from BT is to proactively build the necessary network infrastructure to connect the majority of households and businesses rather than wait for this to be done on request.

It is also proposed that BT would fund this investment and recover its costs through the charges for products providing access to its local access networks. The approach to recovering these costs will be considered in Ofcom’s current wholesale local access review.

BT Chief Executive Gavin Patterson said:

We are pleased to make a voluntary offer to deliver the Government’s goal for universal broadband access at minimum speeds of 10Mbps.

This would involve an estimated investment of £450m – £600m depending on the final technology solution.

This investment will reinforce the UK’s status as the leading digital economy in the G20. We already expect 95% of homes and businesses to have access to superfast broadband speeds of 24Mbps or faster by the end of 2017. Our latest initiative aims to ensure that all UK premises can get faster broadband, even in the hardest to reach parts of the UK.

The Government will now work with BT over the coming months to develop the proposal – which, if it is accepted, will be legally-binding. The Government will make a decision following its consultation on the regulatory USO.

Notes to editors:

1. BT proposes to use a range of technologies to deliver this, including fibre to the cabinet, fibre to the home and fixed wireless. Fixed wireless will be made available at an affordable price for hard to reach premises.
2. They would use these technologies to take the UK’s 10Mbps coverage to around 99 per cent by 2020. All of these technologies will come with quality standards including a minimum 1Mbps upload speeds, and requirements to minimise delays from contention and latency.
3. Fixed coverage would be made available to as many premises as possible. BT expects to complete the build of this fixed network by either December 2021 or December 2022 depending on the mix of technologies used, some of which are subject to trial and industry consultation.
4. The number of premises that will only have satellite as an option is expected to be 0.3% by the end of 2022.
5. Today, over 93 per cent of UK homes and businesses can already get superfast broadband (24 Mbps+), and as a direct result of the Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme, this will increase to 95 per cent by the end of this year.

The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, said:

The UK strongly condemns North Korea’s second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile and calls on the regime to immediately stop all activity that breaches UN Security Council resolutions.

The UK will stand alongside our allies and partners as we confront the growing threat North Korea poses to regional and international security. Once again North Korea shows no regard for its international obligations.

We urge the DPRK regime to put the well-being of its own people ahead of the illegal pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Funding for rural businesses that will generate thousands of jobs and provide new support to expand and improve their premises has been announced as part of a £200million grant offer.

Announcing the latest round of Rural Development Programme funding, Lord Gardiner confirmed that for the first time under the current scheme specific funding will be available to support new rural broadband projects, and provide significant amounts of funding to on-farm businesses to invest in new infrastructure such as new buildings and machinery.

The current Rural Development Programme for England is expected to generate 6,750 new jobs. Already more than 1,400 projects have been agreed which are expected to create over 2,300 jobs.

The grants will also fund landowners to improve farm productivity and invest in rural tourism opportunities.

Rural Affairs Minister Lord Gardiner said:

One in three businesses in this country are based in the countryside, and this government is committed to providing the support they need to create a strong and prosperous rural economy.

This funding will make sure businesses in remote locations can get online, help farmers install cutting-edge technology, create new tourist hotspots and bring high quality jobs to rural communities across the country.

This round of funding will include:

• £30m to improve rural broadband – the grants available will encourage growth by helping provide broadband services at speeds of 30Mbps or faster where this is not available or planned. It will supplement existing Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport investment in rural broadband.

• £45m to help rural businesses grow and invest in new equipment – rural businesses, including those engaged in tourism and food production, can apply for funding to invest in their company, helping them to expand, diversify, and invest in new technology.

• £120m for projects that improve farm productivity – this money will help farmers, foresters and landowners manage their land more effectively. Funding will be available for a wide range of purposes, including woodland management equipment, creating on-farm reservoirs and using water more efficiently.

Lord Gardiner made the announcement during a visit to the Suffolk Cookhouse project in Ipswich, which received £422,000 in 2012 to open a new food hall. The hall is now one of the biggest tourism hubs in the region, bringing together local artists and food producers, and creating 45 jobs.

The first grant funding that will become available will be for reservoirs and forestry equipment and these are expected to be open for applications from Monday, while funding for broadband, rural business support, on-farm food processing, arable and horticultural productivity and resource efficiency will be made available later in the year. A further £6.6m will be available for animal health and welfare projects.

This funding is part of planned investment of at least £3.5 billion into our rural economies by 2020 under RDPE, supporting the third of businesses in the UK which are based in the countryside. All projects agreed before we leave the EU will be guaranteed for their lifetime – providing stability and certainty while future support for farmers and rural communities is developed.

Further information

• Today’s announcement supports the manifesto commitment to bring sustainable growth to rural economies, entrepreneurs, farmers and landowners.

• The RDPE Growth Programme provides funding for projects in England which create jobs and growth in the rural economy. Under the RDPE Growth Programme, there are currently calls for projects open for: business development, food processing and rural rural tourism infrastructure.

• Countryside Productivity aims to improve productivity of farm and forestry businesses by making targeted investments to encourage best practice and innovation.