Council publishes 2025-26 Annual Report
The Scottish Sentencing Council has made significant progress in the development of sentencing guidelines, including the approval of two guidelines on rape offences, according to its Annual Report 2025-26 published today.
Commenting on the report, Council Chair, Lord Beckett, the Lord Justice Clerk, said: “In 2025-26, we submitted sentencing guidelines on rape and rape of a young child to the High Court. Both guidelines were met with approval and entered into force in March 2026, marking a significant step in the sentencing of these crimes.
“Rape is an extremely serious offence and one of great public concern, and the sentencing of it is a sensitive and complex process. These guidelines were created to help promote greater consistency in sentencing and aid public understanding of how appropriate sentences are reached by the courts. They also provide greater clarity for victims.
“The finalisation of the guidelines has also helped the Council with the continuing development of guidelines on offences involving indecent images of children and sexual assault, while significant advancements have also been made with the domestic abuse guideline.”
Lord Beckett continued: “We also contributed to policy development this year as we published a report on the second national survey of public perceptions of sentencing, which was conducted on our behalf by Ipsos Scotland. The survey provides valuable insight into the Scottish public’s views and understanding of different aspects of sentencing, including community sentencing; sentencing of domestic abuse; media coverage of sentencing; and the sentencing of people with mental health conditions and developmental or intellectual differences.
“We also contributed to public understanding and awareness of sentencing by publishing a range of accessible, interactive and educational materials. Vital research regarding sentencing practice, guideline development and the operation of guidelines in practice was also undertaken by the Council.”
The annual report highlights a wide range of other key achievements and activities during 2025-26, including:
- A conference to commemorate the Council’s tenth anniversary attended by over 100 justice professionals from across Scotland
- Contributions to our spotlight on sentencing blogs from Council and staff members as well as multiple guest authors
- In-house data gathering and analysis to inform the development and review of guidelines including reviews of the Sentencing Young People Guideline after three years in effect, and the Death by Driving Guideline after one year in effect
- The development and publication of a new easy read guide, ‘Sentencing of Crimes in Scotland’, which aims to provide simple and accessible explanations on how a court decides a sentence and the different sentencing options which are available
- General awareness raising activities and public engagement with presentations at a range of educational institutions and Doors Open Days in Edinburgh and Glasgow
- A wide range of work to develop sentencing guidelines on indecent images of children offences, sexual assault offences, domestic abuse, environmental and wildlife offences, and sentencing after a guilty plea
- The publication of free interactive lesson plans for secondary school students on community and prison sentencing, designed on behalf of the Council by a modern studies teacher
Read the 2025-26 Annual Report here.