Sentencing Act 2020

77 Basis of opinion provisions not to affect power to mitigate sentences

(1) Nothing in any of the basis of opinion provisions prevents a court from mitigating an offender’s sentence by taking into account any matters that, in the opinion of the court, are relevant in mitigation of sentence.

(2) Section 230(2) (threshold for imposing discretionary custodial sentence) does not prevent a court, after taking into account such matters, from passing a community sentence even though it is of the opinion that—

(a) the offence, or

(b) the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it,

was so serious that a community sentence could not normally be justified for the offence.

(3) Nothing in any of the basis of opinion provisions prevents a court—

(a) from mitigating any penalty included in an offender’s sentence by taking into account any other penalty included in that sentence, and

(b) in the case of an offender who is convicted of one or more other offences, from mitigating the offender’s sentence by applying any rule of law as to the totality of sentences.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) are not to be taken to limit subsection (1).

(5) In this section “basis of opinion provision” means any of the following—

(a) section 30 or 33 (pre-sentence reports and other requirements);

(b) section 124, 125 or 126 (fixing of fine);

(c) section 179, 180 or 186(3) to (9) (exercise of power to impose youth rehabilitation order, with or without intensive supervision and surveillance or fostering, and other requirements);

(d) section 204 or 208(3) to (9) (exercise of power to impose community order, and community requirements);

(e) section 230, 231 or 232 (imposing custodial sentences).