On 18 March 2024, the Sentencing Council published a response to the third annual consultation on miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines, and made changes to a number of the sentencing guidelines. Relevant to MFF members, the Council was made aware of a potential difficulty in sentencing cases where there is little or no financial harm but a high level of non-financial impact on the victim. As a result the fraud guideline will be amended from 1 April 2024 to give increased recognition to the impact on victims in circumstances where there is no or limited financial loss with the wording: "Serious detrimental effect on the victim whether financial or otherwise (including emotional and psychological harm)".

Click here to read report