Recommendation 74: Joint inspection of Victims Code compliance
From Interim Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published 25 April 2018.
Recommendation
The Chair and Panel recommend that the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and Attorney General commission a joint inspection of compliance with the Victims' Code in relation to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The Victims' Commissioner should be consulted on the inspection approach to ensure that it is fully informed by the experiences of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.
In brief (written by this site)
HM Government stated in July 2019 that the Ministry of Justice had launched a compliance framework for the Victims' Code on 1 April 2019, with the Criminal Justice Board expected to receive its first national report in early 2020 (HM Government, Jul 2019). In October 2022, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recorded that the department had paused framework development in October 2020 because of operational pressures during the pandemic, and that the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorate had suspended joint inspections (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022). The inquiry noted that the department was looking to restart work and renew engagement with the board subject to operational capacity, and had published a response to its Victims Bill consultation in May 2022 (The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Oct 2022).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
14. The Inquiry raises concerns that victims and survivors of child sexual abuse are not consistently receiving the service to which they are entitled under the Victims’ Code.
15. The cross-government Victims Strategy was published in September and sets out our commitments to improve support for victims of crime. The Strategy commits to hold agencies to account for compliance with the Victims’ Code through improved reporting, monitoring and transparency on whether victims are receiving entitlements. This goes hand in hand with amending the Code to make sure that the entitlements victims receive are the right ones in the first place. At a local level Police and Crime Commissioners will be responsible for regularly monitoring and identifying issues through local criminal justice partnership arrangements so they can determine effective local intervention. The Criminal Justice Board and Ministers will receive reports to monitor delivery at a national level and address cross- cutting issues with national service providers. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is considering the role the Victims’ Commissioner might best play in the process as it is developed.
16. The Criminal Justice Joint Inspection (CJJI) brings together the four relevant Inspectorates in this area: HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, and HM Inspectorate of Probation. The CCJI and the relevant Inspectorates are independent, and consult publicly on their programme of work. The Government will discuss the possibility of a joint inspection with the CJJI once the compliance framework is formally commenced.
Delivery
UK Government says in progress (22 July 2019)
In conjunction with Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and criminal justice agencies, including the police and Crown Prosecution Service, the MoJ has developed a compliance framework for the Victims’ Code focussed on the five entitlements which victims highlighted during work on the Victims Strategy as the most important to them. The framework was launched on 1 April 2019 and monitoring has begun at a local level. PCCs will oversee data collection at local level: each Local Criminal Justice Board will examine its own data, and the national Criminal Justice Board (CJB) will receive a national report and take action to address significant national non-compliance. The CJB is likely to receive the first national report in early 2020 once the draft framework has been in place for 12 months.
Site note: The UK Government's progress update on the Interim Report, 22 July 2019. For each recommendation it restates the "Government commitment - December 2018" and gives an "Update"; it states no new position on the recommendation. The position is in the response of 20 December 2018.
What other bodies have found
In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (6 October 2022)
On 22 July 2019, the UK Government response stated that the Ministry of Justice had developed and implemented a compliance framework for the Victims’ Code. In early 2020, the Criminal Justice Board will receive the first national compliance report and will take action to address significant non-compliance. In its progress update in December 2018, the Government noted that it would discuss the possibility of a joint inspection with the Criminal Justice Joint Inspection once the compliance framework had formally commenced. On 23 October 2020, the Ministry of Justice stated that the operational demands of the pandemic on both the Ministry of Justice and criminal justice agencies, meant that further development of the Victims' Code compliance monitoring framework had not been possible. Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice was also aware that the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorate had suspended joint inspections. However, subject to the operational capacity of criminal justice agencies, the Ministry of Justice was looking to restart this work and renew its engagement with the Criminal Justice Board. On 25 May 2022, the Ministry of Justice published a response to its consultation on the Victim’s Bill. The Ministry of Justice stated that it would introduce a wide range of measures within the Victims Bill and, as issues raised in the consultation could not be addressed through legislation alone, the Bill would sit alongside additional measures.
From: Recommendations - Interim Report
Site note: These are the Inquiry's own words, from its recommendations page for the Interim Report, captured by the Internet Archive on 6 October 2022. They are the Inquiry's account of what the body told it, not the body's own words.
Site note: The government's own words are recorded on this recommendation: its response of 20 December 2018 and its progress update of 22 July 2019.
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- UK Government
Response, delivery statement - Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
Finding