To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to reduce custodial sentencing.

Our proposals for statutory framework for sentencing were set out in the White Paper, "Crime Justice and Protecting the Public" (Cm 965), which was published on 6 February. These include restrictions on the use of custody for all but the most serious offenders, together with a wider and more flexible range of strengthened community penalties and reduced maximum penalties for theft and burglary, except burglaries of people's homes.