Select committee: Justice Committee
Recommendation 35
Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Victims Bill
Published 30 Sep 2022
Paragraph 121
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Victims Bill All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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 recommend that the Government monitors IDVA and ISVA access to the court. The accompanying guidance should set out clearly that those who meet the criteria of being an ISVA or IDVA have a right to support complainants at hearings and that the presumption should be for access to the court to be granted.
From: Justice Committee, Second Report - Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Victims Bill (HC 304), paragraph 121, 30 September 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 19 January 2023 (deadline 30 November 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government says it will take forward a number of the Committee's recommendations, including amending the Bill, while stating that "we do not consider that any changes are necessary" on several others.
- On the definition of a victim, the Government "will amend the Bill to include bereaved families" and intends to reference persons born as a result of rape in the Bill and the new Code.
- It does not consider changes necessary on immigration data sharing, citing a Home Office Review, and says it "will consider" a statutory code of practice and Migrant Victim Protocol being developed by the Home Office.
- It declines to give victims a right to access restorative justice, stating "we do not consider that a right to access restorative justice is practical or appropriate" because participation must be voluntary and agreed as safe.
- It will amend the Bill to retain the Victims' Commissioner's duty to oversee the Code nationally and to require agencies to respond to all the Commissioner's reports, "ahead of introduction".