This House of Lords Library briefing provides information in support of the House of Lords consideration of the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Amendment) Bill [HL] on 27 January 2017.
Rehabilitation of Offenders (Amendment) Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (176 KB , PDF)
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (1974 Act) aims to support the rehabilitation of reformed offenders by providing specific periods—subject to the sentence passed or disposal administrated—after which cautions and convictions become ‘spent’, and an individual is regarded as rehabilitated. The Bill aims to reduce the rehabilitation periods of various sentences, and introduce a rehabilitation period for sentences exceeding four years (48 months), which are currently never ‘spent’. There have been criticisms of the 1974 Act and previous governments have attempted to make changes. The most recent changes were made by section 139 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which reduced the rehabilitation periods for both custodial and non-custodial sentences and increased the upper limit to include sentences of up to four years (and applying retrospectively).
Rehabilitation of Offenders (Amendment) Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (176 KB , PDF)
The European Convention on Human Rights was signed by the members of the Council of Europe, including the UK, in Rome in 1950. The UK was one of the first states to ratify it in 1951 and it is now incorporated into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998. The UK government has recently restated its unequivocal commitment to the convention.
The crown court backlog reached a record high of 73,105 cases in September 2024. The impact on victims, witnesses and defendants has been significant as they wait longer for their cases to be resolved. The government commissioned an independent review of criminal courts that will produce reform recommendations to address crown court pressures. Whilst stakeholders have welcomed the review, some have called for more immediate action to reduce the backlog.
Iranian authorities have detained British and dual nationals on various charges in recent years, including espionage. The exact number of those detained is not published because some choose to avoid publicity. UN human rights experts have referred to “systemic arbitrary detention” in Iran. The Labour government plans to support British nationals detained overseas by creating a special envoy for complex detention cases and ensuring a legal right to consular assistance.
