Recommendations & Conclusions
14 items
5
Recommendation
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
We recommend that victims of non-criminal anti-social behaviour who meet the threshold for a ‘Community Trigger’ should be recognised as victims for the purposes of the Bill and be entitled to rights under the revised Victims’ Code. We think this is in line with the Government’s aim of achieving a …
Government response. The government acknowledged the impact of anti-social behaviour but stated it would continue to support those affected outside of the Bill and Code, referencing existing plans and funding instead.
Ministry of Justice
6
Conclusion
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
Many victims of crime do not pursue a criminal justice response, particularly those most at risk of being victims. We generally welcome the draft Bill’s open definition of victim, subject to our comments in paragraph 10, but it needs to go further. All those who have suffered harm must be …
Government response. The government acknowledges the committee's points but rejects the premise that changes are needed to create a firewall between police and immigration enforcement, stating that data sharing restrictions are not considered operable. It notes existing police discretion and specific protocols …
Ministry of Justice
7
Recommendation
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
We call for an immediate end to the sharing of victims’ and witnesses’ data between the police and the Home Office for immigration enforcement purposes and the introduction of a complete firewall for those groups. We recommend that the draft Bill includes a provision stating that victims’ and witnesses’ data …
Government response. The government rejects the recommendation for an immediate end to data sharing between police and the Home Office for immigration enforcement and the introduction of a complete firewall, citing a Home Office review that found such restrictions inoperable. It notes …
Ministry of Justice
8
Conclusion
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
As drafted, the Victims Bill does not appear to enshrine the Victims Code in law any more than is already provided for. The four overarching principles in the draft Bill are so broad and permissive that it is not clear that they serve any significant legal purpose. The current Code …
Government response. The government rejects the conclusion that the Bill's principles lack significant legal purpose, asserting they protect the Code's underlying purpose and, combined with existing safeguards and new oversight, will encourage desired culture change.
Ministry of Justice
9
Recommendation
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
The Government should publish its proposed draft of an updated Victims’ Code and the draft regulations setting out the key entitlements of the Code at the same time as the Victims Bill is presented to Parliament to provide clarity for Members of both Houses as to what the Bill seeks …
Government response. The government will ensure Parliament receives sufficient information but explicitly rejects the recommendation for the regulations to be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, stating that public consultation and laying the revised Code in Parliament provide appropriate scrutiny.
Ministry of Justice
10
Conclusion
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
We are not convinced that the overarching principles, as drafted, are strong enough to drive the necessary cultural change in the treatment of victims in the criminal justice system. The approach taken retains the onus on the victim to claim rights they are often unaware of rather than requiring the …
Government response. The government rejects the conclusion that the overarching principles are not strong enough to drive cultural change, stating they protect the Code's purpose and, combined with existing safeguards and new oversight provisions, will ensure compliance without needing changes.
Ministry of Justice
12
Conclusion
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
Clause 3 obliges the Secretary of State to consult the Attorney General on preparing a draft of the Code and on any amendment to it. That obligation should be extended to include the Home Secretary, Victims’ Commissioner, Domestic Abuse Commissioner and Children’s Commissioner for all amendments.
Government response. The government rejects extending the statutory obligation to consult other Secretaries of State and Commissioners in legislation. It states consultation with the Home Secretary will occur by convention and it is usual practice to consult key stakeholders, but does not …
Ministry of Justice
13
Recommendation
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
As drafted, the Bill fails to adequately address the issue of agencies’ non-compliance with the Code—we are concerned by this given that it is one of the principal reasons for the Bill. We have already recommended strengthening the principles in clause 2; that recommendation, combined with an increase to the …
Government response. The government rejects the recommendation to give further consideration to agencies' non-compliance with the Code, stating that existing safeguards and new oversight provisions in Clause 5 will encourage compliance, making further changes unnecessary.
Ministry of Justice
20
Recommendation
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
A right to information about restorative justice and how to access local restorative justice services is already an entitlement in the Code but it is clear that it is not being delivered consistently. Our predecessor Committee’s 2016 report on restorative justice recommended that the Victims’ Law should include a provision …
Government response. The government committed to making information about restorative justice more consistently available but explicitly rejected a legislative right to access restorative justice, deeming it impractical or inappropriate due to its voluntary nature.
Ministry of Justice
23
Recommendation
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
We recommend that the Code includes a right for victims whose cases are heard in the Crown Court to be offered a free transcript of the judge’s sentencing remarks, in a format that they can access, and that bereaved families should be offered a free transcript of the Coroner’s findings …
Government response. The government rejects making free transcripts of judge's sentencing remarks a universal Code right, citing existing fees and appropriateness, and states bereaved families can already receive Coroner's findings free of charge.
Ministry of Justice
33
Conclusion
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
Commissioning of support services for victims works best when commissioners have an accurate understanding of need. As drafted, the Bill requires the authorities to consider any needs assessment they may have carried out in preparing the strategy. This needs to be strengthened to require the authorities to undertake the needs …
Government response. The government rejected strengthening the Bill to require new needs assessments, arguing that existing processes and the Bill's current wording on using existing assessments are sufficient and new requirements would be duplicative. They will, however, consider how statutory guidance can …
Ministry of Justice
35
Recommendation
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
ISVAs and IDVAs have a valuable role in supporting vulnerable victims through the criminal justice process. Defining their role in statute and the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Rules will raise their profile further and should go some way to addressing concerns of inconsistent access to the court room. We …
Government response. The government rejected monitoring IDVA and ISVA access to court, stating it's a matter for the judiciary and unnecessary given existing legal provisions for court access. However, they will clearly set out in statutory guidance that victims have the right …
Ministry of Justice
36
Recommendation
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
We recommend that the Bill includes the entire definition of a domestic abuse victim as it appears in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. We further recommend that the Bill also defines Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors who support children—so called CHIDVAs and CHISVAs.
Government response. The government rejected defining CHIDVAs and CHISVAs in legislation, stating these roles are less established. They will carefully consider how statutory guidance might clarify how ISVAs and IDVAs should support the needs of children and young people.
Ministry of Justice
46
Conclusion
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutin…
Rejected
Measures to support victims set out in the Victims Bill and Code should not be diminished by reforms to the Human Rights Act. The safeguards provided by that Act are also important given the weaknesses in the Victims Bill with respect to the ability for individuals to enforce their rights …
Government response. The government believes its Bill of Rights will strengthen victim protection and states that no changes to either the Victims Bill or the Bill of Rights are necessary as a result of the Committee's concerns.
Ministry of Justice