Criminal Law Legislation Update
| Published date | 01 October 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1350/jcla.2013.77.5.859 |
| Date | 01 October 2013 |
| Author | Laura McGowan |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Criminal Law
Legislation Update*
Laura McGowan†
Primary legislation
The Crime and Courts Act 2013 received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013.
Commencement has begun—see the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (Com-
mencement No. 1 and Transitional and Saving Provision) Order 2013 (SI
2013 No. 1042) and the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (Commencement
No. 2 and Saving Provision) Order 2013 (SI 2013 No. 1682). The
Commencement No. 1 Order brings into force provisions enabling the
National Crime Agency to be formed on 27 May 2013.
Consultation Papers
Sentencing Council
The Sentencing Council launched on 27 June 2013 a consultation on
proposals for updating guidance for judges and magistrates when sen-
tencing fraud, bribery and money laundering offences (see at http://
sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/). Responses are requested by 4 October
2013.
The Council is seeking views on: the principal factors that make any
of the offences included within the draft guideline more or less serious;
the additional factors that should influence the sentence; the approach
taken to structuring the draft guidelines; the sentences that should be
passed for fraud, bribery and money laundering offences for both indi-
viduals and corporations; and anything else that should be considered.
The consultation applies to: fraud, possessing, making or supplying
articles for use in frauds, revenue fraud, benefit fraud, money launder-
ing, bribery and corporate offenders. The Sentencing Council explains
that ‘more than 16,000 people were sentenced for fraud in 2011.
Offences can range from a fraudulent attempt to get a refund in a high
street shop to a multi-million pound VAT fraud, and the guidelines cover
the great variety of offences that target individuals, businesses, public
money and charities’. Fraud against individuals cost people £6.1 billion
in 2011; private sector fraud cost business £45.5 billion in 2011; fraud
targeting public money amounted to £20.3 billion in 2011; and, fraud
against the not-for-profit sector cost charities £1.1 billion in 2011.
* As at 4 August 2013.
† Barrister, Carmelite Chambers; e-mail: laurajmcgowan@gmail.com.
358 The Journal of Criminal Law (2013) 77 JCL 358–359
doi:10.1350/jcla.2013.77.5.859
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