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Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme

Key Facts and Statistics

Annalena Wolcke

Last updated: May 2026

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Fact 1

The Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) Scheme allows anyone, including victims, to ask the Attorney General’s Office to review Crown Court sentences for serious offences in England and Wales that are deemed too lenient.

If a sentence falls within the scheme, the Attorney General may refer the case to the Court of Appeal, which may change the type of sentence and/or extend the length of the sentence in question.1

Anyone, including victims and bereaved families, have 28 days to challenge sentences under the scheme.

In April 2026, the Government announced that victims and bereaved families will get an extended window of up to six months to challenge sentences in specific, exceptional circumstances in the future.2

IN 2025,

1,491

SENTENCES WERE RAISED AS BEING POTENTIALLY UNDULY LENIENT BY VICTIMS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.3

THIS IS

1.75%

OF ALL CROWN COURT SENTENCES4

Fact 2

Between January 2025 and April 2026, victims and other members of the public raised 1,819 cases with the Attorney General’s Office under the ULS scheme for 196 different offences.

The most common offences that were raised under the scheme included:5

OffenceNumber of cases raised
Rape (including of a child under 13)178
Causing grievous bodily harm (with and without intent)107
Murder104
Causing death by driving (including whilst over the prescribed limit; by careless or inconsiderate driving; while under the influence of drink or drugs)98
Sexual Assault (including by penetration, and of a child under 13)96
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm74
Manslaughter63
Conspiracy to supply a class A drug52
Wounding with intent51
Making an indecent image of a child50

Fact 3

Only a minority of cases raised under the scheme are subsequently referred to the Court of Appeal for review.6

OutcomeCases*Cases (%)
Application withdrawn1247%
Not in scheme50628%
Not in scheme and out of time292%
Out of time342%
Not referred to Court of Appeal85647%
Referred to the Court of Appeal27015%

*Out of a total of 1,819 cases raised between January 2025 and April 2026

Fact 4

The number of cases referred to the Court of Appeal has fluctuated between 2011-20257

Over the last 10 years, an annual average of 149 cases were referred by the Attorney General to the Court of Appeal under the scheme.

The scheme was expanded in 2017, 2018, and 2019 to include additional offences – primarily related to terrorism and sexual offences.8

Fact 5

Of all the cases referred to the Court of Appeal under the ULS scheme, more than six out of 10 were for violent offences.9

Distribution of Offence Types of all referred cases, 2011-2025 (%)

*Notes:

1) Data for 2024 is not included in this graph, as it is not publicly available.

2) The bars do not add up to 100%, as one offence can be counted in multiple categories (e.g. rape of a child will be included in the categories for violent offences, sexual offences, and offences involving a child).

Fact 6

The majority of cases referred to the Court of Appeal result in a sentence increase10

YearLeave refused and/or not considered a ULSLeave Granted, Sentence UnchangedLeave Granted, Sentence Increased11
201117%3%80%
201221%4%76%
201311%1%87%
201411%3%87%
201525%0%75%
201623%3%74%
201718%3%79%
201827%2%71%
201928%1%71%
202020%17%64%
202123%9%68%
202225%7%69%
202319%14%67%
2024n/an/an/a
2025n/a36%64%
Average20%7%74%

Note: Data for 2024 is not included in this table, as it is not publicly available.

Download this infographic as PDF

This infographic is one of a series on sentencing trends in England & Wales. Others can be found here. For further information, contact Annalena Wolcke at [email protected]

  1. Beard, J., & Sturge, G. (2022). Review of unduly lenient sentences. House of Commons Library, p.6. Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00512/SN00512.pdf. ↩︎
  2. Ministry of Justice. (2026). Victims and bereaved get more time to challenge lenient sentences. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/victims-and-bereaved-get-more-time-to-challenge-lenient-sentences. ↩︎
  3. Data source: Attorney General’s Office (2026). Outcome of unduly lenient sentence referrals, 30.04.2026. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcome-of-unduly-lenient-sentence-referrals. (Accessed May 5, 2026) ↩︎
  4. Data source: Ministry of Justice. (2026). Crown Court Offence Tool. In Criminal justice statistics quarterly: December 2025. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2025. ↩︎
  5. Data source: Attorney General’s Office (2026). Outcome of unduly lenient sentence referrals, 30.04.2026. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcome-of-unduly-lenient-sentence-referrals. (Accessed May 5, 2026) ↩︎
  6. Data source: Attorney General’s Office (2026). Outcome of unduly lenient sentence referrals, 30.04.2026. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcome-of-unduly-lenient-sentence-referrals. (Accessed May 5, 2026) ↩︎
  7. Data sources:
    1) Attorney General’s Office. (2024). Unduly lenient sentence annual case outcomes data. GOV.UK. Various spreadsheets. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unduly-lenient-sentence-annual-case-outcomes-data.

    2) Attorney General’s Office (2026). Outcome of unduly lenient sentence referrals, 30.04.2026. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcome-of-unduly-lenient-sentence-referrals. (Accessed May 5, 2026)

    3) UK Parliament. (2025). Written question 33594. UK Parliament Questions and Statements. Available at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-02-25/33594. ↩︎
  8. Beard, J., & Sturge, G. (2022). Review of unduly lenient sentences. House of Commons Library. Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00512/SN00512.pdf. ↩︎
  9. Data sources:
    1) Attorney General’s Office. (2024). Unduly lenient sentence annual case outcomes data. GOV.UK. Various spreadsheets. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unduly-lenient-sentence-annual-case-outcomes-data.

    2) Attorney General’s Office (2026). Outcome of unduly lenient sentence referrals, 30.04.2026. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcome-of-unduly-lenient-sentence-referrals. (Accessed May 5, 2026) ↩︎
  10. Data sources:
    1) Attorney General’s Office. (2024). Unduly lenient sentence annual case outcomes data. GOV.UK. Various spreadsheets. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unduly-lenient-sentence-annual-case-outcomes-data.

    2) Attorney General’s Office (2026). Outcome of unduly lenient sentence referrals, 30.04.2026. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcome-of-unduly-lenient-sentence-referrals. (Accessed May 5, 2026) ↩︎
  11. For an in-depth discussion of the history of the ULS scheme and the nature of sentence changes, see
    Harris, Lyndon. 2019. “Evaluating 30 Years of the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme: Attorney General’s References, 1988–2017.” Criminal Law Review 5: 370–93. ↩︎