Over the last few weeks, policy and legislative activity around victims has taken shape, through a number of publications which set out the government’s priorities in this area.
Proposed measures have used responses from a consultation the government ran over Christmas last year on their proposed Victims’ Bill.
The MA responded to this consultation when it ran earlier this year. Our response emphasises:
- The importance of Impact Statements, both Community Impact Statements (CIS) and Victim Impact Statement (VIS) to help victims speak about their experiences
- The importance of taking steps to reduce criminal justice delays, which will be vital to the experience of victims
- Proposed increases to the Victims Surcharge, which the MA disagreed with.
The government’s response to the consultation, which has now been published, states the Bill will contain the following legislative measures relevant to magistrates:
- Placing the overarching principles of the Victims’ Code, such as the right to make a Victim Personal Statement, in primary legislation
- Strengthening local oversight of delivery of the Victims’ Code through an enhanced role of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs)
- Introducing a duty on PCCs, local authorities and Integrated Care Boards to collaborate locally, to better coordinate victim support services
- Updating the role of the Victims’ Commissioner, including a requirement for departments and agencies with a responsibility to meet the requirements under the Victims’ Code to respond to relevant annual report recommendations
- Bolstering national oversight through a requirement for regular joint thematic inspections on victims’ experiences
The publication of the Draft Victims Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech on 10 May. was then published shortly after and incorporates all of the above fully.
The government’s consultation response also outlines other action, outside of the scope of the Draft Bill, that will be changed as a matter of policy and guidance:
- Increase the Victim Surcharge by 20 per cent overall, with individuals now paying a higher Surcharge alongside fines. The MOJ estimates that this will increase contributions by up to £20 million per year by 2024/25.
- Work with inspectorates to enhance their oversight of victims’ experiences and use ratings to improve performance. This is to include more regular inspections of victims’ issues and experiences.
- Introduce a duty in the Victims’ Code requiring the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to meet with victims in certain cases before a hearing takes place.
- Include information about Community Impact Statements (CIS) in the Victims’ Code to promote their use in appropriate cases
This will be supported by a separate, recently published Victims’ Funding Strategy; its three strands are summarised below:
- Fund the victims support sector more strategically. Funding processes will be simplified, and services will begin to be funded on a multi-year basis to make these services sustainable.
- Remove barriers to access. National commissioning standards to make sure that there is a baseline quality of support in services provided for all victims. This will support the new statutory duty the Bill creates for local bodies to work together to commission victim services.
- Implement clear and consistent outcomes. Introduce standard core metrics for all commissioners and services, with set outcomes that a commissioned victim service should deliver against.
