194.Section 13 amends section 225 of the 2003 Act (life sentence or imprisonment for public protection for serious offences). Section 225 applies to those 18 or over. The amendments have the following effect.
They give the court a power, rather than a duty, to impose a sentence of imprisonment for public protection.
They provide that this power may only be exercised where either of two conditions is met: either the immediate offence would attract a notional minimum term of at least 2 years; or the offender has on a previous occasion been convicted of one of the offences listed in the new Schedule 15A to the 2003 Act (inserted by Schedule 5 to the Act).
195.In the notes on this section and sections 14 to 18, the term “immediate offence” is used to refer to the offence for which the person is being sentenced.
196.New subsection (3C) defines what is meant by notional minimum term. The court should follow the usual practice for setting tariffs for sentences of imprisonment for public protection (in accordance with section 82A(2) of the 2000 Act), except that it should not credit periods of time on remand (in custody or on bail) in arriving at the minimum term.