For less minor speeding charges of about 10% over the limit.  The driver can elect to go on a "speed awareness course" and not receive the minimum 3 points and a £100.00 fine. If they do not attend or respond to the official letters or indicate they are not attending if pulled over by the police. They will be dealt with in court either with them in attendance or not and the penalty will be greater. Many tickets are issued via camera so it will state this on the official letter and they have a set time to respond and mark their choice. 

For speeding you can loose your licence, have it suspended for a while, loose your job, and/or go to prison depending on the severity and the outcome of your speeding, if it ends in an accident or serious injury or a fatality. It can be catastrophic to your livelihood and finances. 

Any points will stay on your licence for 4 years. before being wiped clean, if you get more points within the 4 years then the four years starts again. if you go over 12 points you automatically loose you licence and you job if your employment requires a licence. This means if you have 9 points and you are given another ticket for anything then it is lose of your licence. 

For every point and offence the cost of insuring your vehicle rises steeply. If you declare that you went on a speed awareness course your Insurance rises the same as is normal. The insurance companies can access the DVLA database to raise your Insurance, but they cannot access the Police database that will show you have attended a speed awareness course. If you fail to declare you have attended a speed awareness course, you will face more problems for the offence of not declaring relevant information to the insurers.