Ministers are now considering the Sentencing Commission recommendations, which include setting a minimum period which should be served by those sentenced to more than a year in jail.

There would also be a requirement for the sentence to be explained so that no-one was left in doubt about the minimum time to be served in custody.

Here is some of the reaction to the report.

"Our recommendations are designed to put forward a system in which the sentences imposed by the courts will mean what they say. However, we are also very clear as a commission that the new system must also ensure that safeguards are put in place to ensure that the levels of sentences imposed in the future take account of the way the system presently operates."

"I welcome the strong indication from the commission for an ideological shift in the way we understand the term 'sentence' - moving away from its old-fashioned and narrow interpretation as a spell behind bars to a managed process in which jail and tough community options work in tandem to both punish and rehabilitate."

"The commission's good work and sensible advice will come to nothing if it is not backed up by adequate resources. The executive must ensure that the organisations implementing the proposals are able to do so effectively and are not hamstrung."

"We welcome the proposals which, although complex, do recommend abolishing automatic early release - something the Conservatives have long argued was failing victims and the wider public. What we must not forget is that the Labour-led Scottish Executive has had six years to end automatic early release and on no less than four occasions rejected Scottish Conservative amendments proposing exactly that."