Here, Great James Street’s Vishal Misra offers an essential update on criminal law sentencing for all practitioners, with an additional focus on new suspended sentences rules, providing easy-to-follow advice and a breakdown of factors to be taken into account.

• When can a sentence be suspended

• New Sentencing Council guidance

• When a sentence should not be suspended

• The youth factor

• Prison population

Relevant law

R v Chowdhury [2016] EWCA Crim 1341

R v Hussain [2019] EWCA Crim 1542

R v Ali [2023] EWCA Crim 232

R v Middleton [2019] EWCA Crim 633

R v Asif [2022] EWCA Crim 1372

Attorney-General’s Reference (Clarke) [2018] EWCA Crim 185