The almost monthly rise of the prison population in England and Wales indicates a wider problem with sentencing policy. We consider the problem to be so serious that we have made it the subject of our first major criminal justice inquiry, in order to consider how to move towards an effective sentencing policy.

The purpose of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 was to provide overall structure and clarity to sentencing, by reserving prison for the most dangerous offenders and by making effective provision to deal with other offenders through community sentences. This report evaluates the extent to which the Act's provisions have been implemented, and its impact on sentencing.

We looked at the main provisions in the 2003 Act designed to meet this strategy. We are concerned that a lack of forethought about the new indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) resulted in a sentence which was insufficiently targeted at the most dangerous offenders. We are very concerned that the Government failed to engage in any adequate resource and capacity planning for the coming into effect of this sentence—particularly given the context of a general trend towards 'uptariffing' by sentencers, which together with Imprisonment for Public Protection is largely responsible for the severe current pressures on prison capacity. These sentences were the 'flagship' in the Government's crime reduction and public safety agenda in the 2003 Act, but this policy was not accompanied by the level of custodial resources required to make them work. Meanwhile, the desired shift to community penalties where public safety is not at issue has not occurred to the extent that was hoped. Similar failures to consider practicalities and resource needs have prevented the effective use and widespread implementation of the new community sentences to achieve this desired policy shift. Further we cannot see how extending a short custodial sentence by a few weeks contributes significantly to public protection, but it certainly does absorb present resources which could be much better used.

Resources are a fundamental issue in delivering an effective sentencing strategy. So too is public confidence in the criminal justice system. The Government has failed to provide the information and leadership required to facilitate an informed public debate, while the media climate for such debate often depends on isolated discussion of particular cases which inhibits calm consideration.

Furthermore, while the Government accepted the recommendations of Lord Carter's review of prisons, we found his report deeply unimpressive. We are concerned that this review was not evidence based and was a missed opportunity. It should have considered how to develop new ideas to address the problems with sentencing and provision of custodial and non-custodial facilities in England and Wales. The Government has not learnt vital lessons from past experience. It needs to adopt a strategic approach to sentencing.

Yet more criminal justice legislation, combined with a lack of time for new types of sentences to settle in, and the fact that key parts of the 2003 Act have not been implemented, has produced a complex and incomplete framework.

We make a series of detailed recommendations around these issues in order to make further progress towards effective sentencing. We urge the Government, the political parties and the media to promote informed and meaningful debate about sentencing policy.