Section 311 of the Sentencing Act 2020 mandates minimum sentences for defendants convicted of offences listed in Schedule 20 who were aged 16 or over when the offence was committed.
The offences listed in Schedule 20 relate to:
- possession of particular types of prohibited weapon under section 5 of the 1968 Act, namely those specified in subsections (1)(a), (ab), (aba), (ac), (ad), (ae) or (af) and (1A)(a);
- manufacturing etc relating to one of these particular types of prohibited weapon, under section 5(2A);
- offences under sections 16, 16A, 17, 18, 19 or 20(1) of the 1968 Act involving a prohibited weapon of one of these particular types; and
- an offence under section 28 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (using someone to mind a weapon) involving a prohibited weapon of one of these particular types.
The minimum term for defendants over 18 years at the time when the offence was committed is a custodial term of 5 years; for defendants under 18 years at the time the offence was committed, the term is 3 years: section 311(4) of the Sentencing Act 2020. However, where the mandatory minimum sentence applies to an offence under section 28 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, the relevant age is the age when the offender was convicted rather than when the offence was committed: section 311(5).
The court must impose the mandatory minimum sentence unless it is of the opinion that there are “exceptional circumstances” relating to the offence or the offender which justify not doing so: section 311(2).