Correspondence

Response to the Victims’ Commissioner Annual Victims’ Survey report 2023

Published 7 January 2025

I am writing in response to the publication of the Victims’ Commissioner’s Annual Victims’ Survey 2023. Your report highlights a range of important issues for victims affected by crime and their experience at all stages of the criminal justice system. I would like to express my gratitude to you and your office for undertaking the survey and for publishing the report and its recommendations. I recently wrote to you (on 22 November) in response to your letter to Minister Phillips on Violence Against Women and Girls which referenced your report, specifically recommendation 7A on the needs of disabled victims. I am pleased to respond fully now, on behalf of the government, to the other recommendations in your report.

First let me reiterate the government’s commitment to ensuring that victims and survivors have the information and support they need to engage with the criminal justice system, and to cope and recover from the impact of crime. That is why implementation of the core reforms in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (“the Act”) is a priority for this government. The Act, once implemented, will cement the baseline for ensuring that victims know about their rights in the Victims’ Code and that agencies deliver them. It will also create a more strategic and coordinated approach to the commissioning of local victim support services.

The government has also signalled its intention to go further in the Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill, which will seek to increase the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner.

I am grateful to you and your office for engaging with us on the development of these measures to ensure victims get the support and information that they need and there is the necessary accountability where the needs of victims are not being met.

Compliance with the Victims’ Code

Your report rightly highlights the importance of the Victims’ Code to ensure victims know what entitlements they can expect to receive.

Officials have developed awareness raising materials on the Victims’ Code for criminal justice agencies to help them abide by the upcoming Code Awareness Duty, and ensure that victims are being properly informed of their rights. Officials continue to engage with criminal justice agencies and are currently gathering information from stakeholders to understand how improvements can be made to the materials in future waves of activity. Officials are planning further awareness raising activity in the new year, and we’d like to thank you again for your involvement in the development of this work.

The government is committed to ensuring the Code is a useful tool for victims to understand their entitlements which is why we will consult on a new Victims’ Code in early 2025. In preparing a new Code, we are looking to ensure that the Code provides a robust foundation upon which an effective compliance framework can be established. Your report recommends that a timetable setting out the implementation of the new Code compliance framework is published (recommendation 1A). The Ministry of Justice will continue to work closely with you, criminal justice agencies and others to agree what that framework entails, building up data capability to usefully measure Code compliance ahead of consulting on and launching the framework. We will set out the timeframe for these milestones in due course.

I acknowledge the importance of ensuring criminal justice agencies collect a consistent set of data on victims and their personal characteristics to aid understanding of who victims are, to prevent certain groups from withdrawing from the justice system in disproportionate numbers (recommendation 14A). As above, the Ministry of Justice is considering the best ways to scrutinise compliance with the Code, and section 6 of the Act will enable the prescription of standardised information that criminal justice agencies must collect, share and review in relation to monitoring compliance with the Code. Statutory guidance will set out the way in which information should be collected, shared and reviewed. This guidance will also cover how staff should be trained on the delivery and application of the Code (recommendation 2A); and on understanding the experience of interacting with criminal justice agencies for victims from diverse backgrounds (recommendation 15A).

In terms of monitoring the application of the new Code, we agree that an accountability mechanism is required within the Code compliance framework with consequences for non-compliance (recommendation 1B). That is why the Act also makes provision for the Secretary of State (in practice the Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary) and the Attorney General following consultation with the Victims’ Commissioner, to jointly issue notices where performance improvements are required.

To go further, the department intends to draw on the expertise of the criminal justice inspectorates. Your recommendation (recommendation 4A) suggests the inspectorates incorporate the provision of communications to victims with accessibility needs into their thematic inspections of victims’ services. I understand the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates have already responded in agreement to your recommendation. To ensure victims remain a vital part of their inspection regimes, the Act will require the inspectorates to consult the Victims’ Commissioner on their inspection plans and provides the Secretary of State the power to direct a joint inspection programme should they wish to explore specified matters relating to the experiences and treatment of victims further.

Victim Experience of the Criminal Justice System

I acknowledge the importance of understanding why some victims do not engage with the criminal justice system, and to also understand why they are withdrawing, and at what stage, from the criminal justice process.

You recommend that research is undertaken to establish why some victims do not engage with the criminal justice system, including those with protected characteristics (recommendation 11A). The Code compliance framework envisages government using feedback gathered directly from victims, and we will consider carefully who should be in scope of that. This will provide valuable insights into the problems that victims are most affected by, and through allowing time for this framework to be embedded and evaluated, we can better identify where the remaining gaps lie and assess whether additional research is necessary.

In your recommendation 10A, you also suggest research is undertaken to examine the importance of court backlogs on victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system. The government acknowledges that the outstanding Crown Court caseload remains one of the biggest pressures facing the criminal justice system at present which is why we committed to bearing down on the caseload and ensuring the timely delivery of justice for victims and witnesses. I do not underestimate the impact that increased delays in victims and witnesses waiting for the hearing of their case has on the likelihood of reporting a crime or staying the course to see justice done. In seeking to mitigate this impact, local metrics are published in the criminal justice system dashboard to help local understanding of victim engagement and the Ministry of Justice is exploring options to relieve some of the pressures facing the Crown Court to improve the delivery of swift justice.

The department continues to explore what more can be done to support the most vulnerable victims and witnesses at court, including carefully considering how we can deliver on the government’s manifesto commitment to fast-track rape cases. We are also considering measures to improve victims’ experience at court, including expanding trauma-informed training for staff, currently delivered in Snaresbrook, Leeds and Newcastle Crown Courts, and further upgrades to court facilities. I understand that you are undertaking independent work into the impact of the caseload on the experience of victims, and I would be interested to see the findings from this work once concluded.

Your report commented on the disproportionately poor experience of the criminal justice system amongst older victims and calls for a specific strategy for this group (recommendation 6A). From my engagement with the sector, I understand the concerns around meeting the needs of older victims. The Victims’ Code acknowledges that victims who are considered vulnerable or intimidated, are a victim of the most serious crime, or have been persistently targeted are more likely to require specialised assistance. Although old age itself is not a qualifying criterion, an older victim would also be eligible to receive enhanced rights if they fell into any of the above categories. The needs of older victims should be assessed on an individual basis, for example they could have the right to special measures in court if they have a physical, mental disability or condition. By remaining focused on ensuring that existing measures are more effectively communicated to victims, and that agencies are held accountable for delivering high-quality measures, older victims’ experience of the criminal justice system and awareness of their rights would be improved.

The department is also reviewing and refreshing the Victim Services Commissioning Framework, part of the Victims’ Funding Strategy. This will support local commissioners to consider bespoke services for groups of victims who may benefit from additional or specifically targeted support, including older victims. The guidance will be an important mechanism to ensure a variety of support roles are considered by those making commissioning decisions.

Victim support services

Your report raises important issues in relation to access to victim support and the suitability of generic support services. It also comments that the impact of locally commissioned victim support services is not properly evaluated.

The government recognises the importance of having a strategic approach to commissioning that speaks to local need, to reduce the risk of duplication as well as gaps in service provision. It is for that reason, we are committed to implementing the duty to collaborate in the Act, requiring the relevant bodies to collaborate in the commissioning of community support services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse and serious violence in England. Once implemented, the duty to collaborate will require relevant bodies to produce and publish a joint strategy and complete a joint assessment of the needs of victims in their area as part of this. Statutory guidance (on which we will consult in early 2025) will make clear that local commissioners should provide a range of services that meet the needs of victims in a local area. This can include the commissioning of specialist services, including for older victims, as you recommend in your report (recommendation 6B), and for disabled victims (recommendation 7A). Indeed, section 14(3) of the Act states that relevant bodies must have regard to the needs of those with protected characteristics (which includes disabled victims) when conducting the needs assessment that will be fed into the strategy. The department will consider how the statutory guidance can encourage commissioners to consider the need for ‘by and for’ services or specialist services for victims with protected characteristics.

More broadly, the Victims Funding Strategy sets out how we will fund the victim support sector more strategically, remove barriers to access, and implement clear and consistent outcomes, including implementation of a set of core metrics and outcomes to help build a better and more consistent evidence base of the effectiveness of services (recommendation 5A). Both the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office will be using the upcoming Spending Review process to further implement the strategy across government. In addition, this department will continue to work with commissioners to align our data collection, but I do not believe it is right at this time to conduct a full evaluation of the commissioning landscape at this time (recommendation 8A) as many services have not been recommissioned since the Strategy was published.

We are however, already considering how best to evaluate the quality of victim support provision through a research and evaluation strategy, as well as the implementation of joint needs assessments for local commissioners under the duty to collaborate provisions (recommendation 9A). I am confident that work this department is doing around monitoring and evaluation strengthens the quality of services to better serve the needs of victims and the landscape of provision.

Victims of Anti-social Behaviour

Your report rightly highlights a range of issues that victims of persistent anti-social behaviour (ASB) can face when interacting with the police and in understanding their rights. The Government is committed to ensuring victims of persistent ASB get the information and support they need.

In doing so, the Ministry of Justice is working to ensure that information and support available for victims of ASB is both accessible and easily understood to ensure victims are signposted to the right information and services. Further, through a public consultation on the revised Victims’ Code in early 2025 (which will ensure that all victims understand the entitlements they can expect to receive under the Code) we will be exploring ways to show that victims of ASB that meets the criminal threshold can expect to receive entitlements applicable to them under the Code (as per your recommendation 3a). We are also considering how an enhanced role of the Victims’ Commissioner could offer more oversight and scrutinise how agencies respond to victims of persistent ASB. I am grateful to your office for working with officials on what form those powers might take.

You highlighted in your report the need for better training for the police to understand when persistent ASB meets a criminal threshold (recommendation 3b). The Government recognises that the police response to victims of persistent ASB can be inconsistent and that there is a lack of understanding of what ASB is among staff. The Home Office is liaising with the College of Policing in respect of its Neighbourhood Policing Programme (NPP) to explore incorporating these specific learning outcomes. The Home Office will make reference, where appropriate, to any recommended training courses as part of wider updates to the statutory guidance on ASB.

Thank you again and to your office for the work on the 2023 Annual Victim Survey. This survey has provided a valuable insight into how victims experience the criminal justice system and highlights issues areas we must continue to focus on to ensure we are improving victims’ experience of the criminal justice system.

Yours Sincerely

ALEX DAVIES-JONES MP

Minister for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls