that this means a minimum of four years in prison, and a further two years during which  the  offender  may  or  may  not  be  released  on  parole,  depending  upon  the assessment of risk by the Parole Board.   In  relation  to  sentencing,  we  recommend  the  establishment  of  a  Sentencing Council whose primary task will be to draft sentencing and parole guidelines.  The guidelines will chiefly address the type and length of sentence.  They will help the Judges and they will simplify sentencing hearings in court.  The guidelines might usefully be issued on the whole range of sentencing and parole matters – the way in which courts should approach an early guilty plea, for example, or best practice for the Parole Board in relation to risk assessment.   The  guidelines  are  not  intended  to  put  judges  into  a  straitjacket,  or  to  turn sentencing  into  a  mechanical  exercise.    It  will  be  important  to  ensure  that  the guidelines are flexible enough to leave judges with the ability to do justice in the individual  case.    For  that  reason,  we  propose  that  judges  will  be  able  to  depart from the guidelines whenever it is in the public interest to do so.    The Sentencing Council will make the system more responsive.  It will also assist in improving public confidence in the system by providing accurate information about sentencing and parole practice.    We  propose  that  the  Council  should  have  a  mix  of  judicial  and  non-judicial membership  -  that  is,  five  judges,  including  the  Chair  of  the  Parole  Board,  and five  non-judicial  members  with  relevant  expertise.    In  addition,  it  will  consult extensively with all interested parties.  This will include, but will not be limited to, a requirement to call for public submissions on its draft guidelines. The  Council  will  be  independent  from  the  government,  but  Parliament  will scrutinise the Council’s guidelines.  If Parliament is not happy with the guidelines, they will not proceed.  The task involves important contributions from all three branches of our government – the Judiciary who carry out the task of sentencing individuals, the Parliament as the ultimate arbiter of the system and the Executive which provides the prisons and runs them.    C:\Documents and Settings\TMcGlennon\Desktop\SG&PR\EI Launch GP Speech.doc