The Sentencing Council for England and Wales is an independent advisory non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. It is responsible for developing and issuing definitive sentencing guidelines that criminal courts must follow, assessing the impact of sentencing decisions, and promoting public understanding of the sentencing process. Established in April 2010 pursuant to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, it replaced the previous Sentencing Guidelines Council and Sentencing Advisory Panel.