Alternative sentencing may include pub bans

he Government is considering proposals to ban offenders from pubs, sports venues, and social events as alternatives to prison sentences, aiming to reduce prison overcrowding.

It is widely reported that Sarah Sackman, the courts minister, told the Guardian that such exclusions, as well as mandatory work for offenders, were “very much part of the mix” under a review of sentencing being conducted by the former Conservative Lord Chancellor David Gauke.

Asked about proposals drawn up by the Bar Council of England and Wales to prevent offenders from attending social events, Sackman said they were under consideration.

“The Leveson review [into criminal courts] is running alongside David Gauke’s review into sentencing, which is looking at the issue of prisons, at the question of punishment outside of prisons, and how we reduce reoffending. The sorts of suggestions that you refer to are very much part of the mix,” she said.

“Do we need to make mandatory work part of the picture? All of that will be considered by David Gauke’s sentencing review.”

Keir Starmer’s government is under pressure to tackle a 73,000-strong backlog of court cases and overcrowded prisons.