I thank the Minister for her response and also thank noble Lords who have taken part in this short debate. I respond by pointing out that 12 points do not come out of nowhere; they are the result of repeated offences. In other words, drivers who acquire them have been ignoring the signs for a long while, in most cases.
I take issue with the Minister’s characterisation of this as interfering with judicial discretion. The amendment says that it would be exceptional
“only if it is significantly greater than the hardship that would arise for a large majority of other drivers if the same disqualification were imposed on them.”
That is a simple indication of what “exceptional” means. It goes on to talk about the things the court could take into account, including
“economic circumstances or location of residence”
and any hardship to the family, especially to people who are disabled or for whom the offender provides care. Finally, it includes
“any other circumstance which it believes would make the hardship genuinely exceptional.”
That is about the broadest definition I can imagine.
Courts are used to having and following sentencing guidelines. The Minister indicated that to us, in some detail. I urge the Government, despite the Minister’s reaction, to look again at the sentencing guidelines to see what can be done. Of course, this is a probing amendment, but the statistics say it all: for one reason or another, the courts are not applying this in an exceptional manner, and the Government ought to look at why that is the case. I will of course withdraw the amendment.