Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Victims Bill

Select Committee

Justice Committee HC 304 30 September 2022

Report Status Response document linked Recorded deadline: 30 Nov 2022

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Conclusions & Recommendations 48 items (29 recs)

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Government response

Eighth Special Report - Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Victims Bill: Government Response to the Committee’s Second Report · published 19 Jan 2023

Read the government response ↗ Response on the tracker

Recommendations & Conclusions

48 results

1 Conclusion

Lack of published draft Victims' Code and regulations hinders effective scrutiny of the Bill.

Conclusion

The Committee welcomes the opportunity to scrutinise the draft Victims Bill and supports the Government’s ambition to improve victims’ awareness of their rights under the Victims’ Code. The Code is an important aspect of the Bill. It is disappointing that … Read more

Ministry of Justice

Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Victims Bill

Recommendations & Conclusions

Lack of published draft Victims' Code and regulations hinders effective scrutiny of the Bill.

Broad definition of 'witness' in Bill requires refinement on impact and Code application.

Expand the Bill's victim definition to include close relatives of persons killed by criminal offence.

Mandate specific inclusion of Victims' Code rights for children born of rape in the Bill.

Recognise victims of non-criminal anti-social behaviour as eligible for Victims' Code rights.

Lack of firewall between police and immigration enforcement compromises victim and witness safety.

Introduce a complete firewall preventing police from sharing victims' data for immigration enforcement.

Victims Bill's broad principles do not significantly enshrine the Victims' Code in law.

Publish draft updated Victims’ Code and regulations alongside Victims Bill for parliamentary scrutiny.

Overarching Victims’ Code principles remain too weak, placing onus on victims.

Amend Clause 2 to mandate services inform victims of Code and strengthen entitlements.

Consultation obligation on Victims’ Code amendments currently remains too narrow.

Strengthen provisions addressing agency non-compliance with the Victims’ Code within the Bill.

Undertake further research on Community Impact Statement usage and provide supportive guidance.

Ensure adequate counselling support for victims submitting statements to Mental Health Tribunals.

Provide further information on offender’s illness to aid relatives of mentally disordered victims.

Right to Review schemes and communication to victims require significant improvement.

Victim participation in parole risks retraumatisation without effective counselling support provision.

Diverting constrained CPS resources risks adverse effects on justice and victim experience.

Include a legislative right for victims to access restorative justice services in the Bill.

Consider providing independent legal advice for vulnerable victims facing disclosure requests.

Counselling notes' therapeutic purpose requires strict enforcement of reasonable disclosure grounds.

Offer free transcripts of sentencing remarks to victims and inquest findings to bereaved families.

Inadequate data collection hinders effective monitoring of Victims' Code compliance and agency accountability.

Require PCCs to publish disaggregated data on Code compliance and share with Commissioner.

Set out clear escalation routes and rights for PCCs to challenge agency compliance.

Expand duty to collaborate to include children's services and victims outside the CJS.

Include reference to child domestic abuse victims and mandate needs assessments in guidance.

Unify diverse duties and multiple funding streams for effective victim support services

Issue clear guidance on governance and accountability for cross-area victim support collaboration

Duty to collaborate for community-based victim support services remains insufficient and unfunded

Create national multi-year ring-fenced fund for specialist victim support service grants

Inadequate mandatory needs assessments hinder effective commissioning of victim support services

Require statutory guidance to address under-representation in needs assessments and signpost specialist support

Mandate clear guidance for IDVA and ISVA court access, presuming entry for support

Incorporate full domestic abuse victim definition and define CHIDVAs and CHISVAs within the Bill

Mandatory guidance needed for ISVA and IDVA roles, training, and qualifications criteria

Co-design ISVA/IDVA guidance with experts, ensuring independence and unrestricted access for victims

Victims Bill risks overwhelming services without significant additional funding provision

Retain Victims' Commissioner's duty to oversee Victims' Code nationally, excluding Clause 11(2)(a)

Extend reply requirement for Victims' Commissioner's recommendations to include thematic reports

Require inspectorates to annually consult Victims’ Commissioner on integrating victim experiences into inspections

Inspectorates should consult Victims' Commissioner and PCCs when developing work programmes

Effective enforcement levers, including reinspection, crucial for improving agencies’ victim performance

Removing MP filter for Ombudsman complaints long overdue; increase visibility and accessibility

Victims Bill measures must not be diminished by Human Rights Act reforms

Consider technical drafting concerns raised in annex before presenting Victims Bill to Parliament

Victims Bill unlikely to achieve sufficient change given existing criminal justice backlogs