Published today, the Sentencing Council’s December 2025 roundup summarises some of the latest analysis and research work carried out or commissioned by the Council to inform the development and evaluation of sentencing guidelines.

Areas of work covered by this December 2025 roundup include the planned Sentencing Council 2026 data collection in magistrates’ courts and all locations of the Crown Court, research with sentencers to understand how specific guidelines are used and their impact on sentencing practice, a report on effectiveness of sentencing and user testing of the digital sentencing guidelines.