New Clause 16 - Provision of explanations to victims
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill [Lords]
4:45 pm
Ms Harriet Harman (Solicitor General, Law Officers' Department; Camberwell and Peckham, Labour)
Clause 21 would require the Secretary of State to issue a code of practice that would be binding on the criminal justice and other organisations that deal with victims of crime and are named in the code. The code will list the services that victims should receive from those organisations. It will build considerably on the current victims charter, creating clear rights for all victims, in terms of information, advice, personal support and protection.
I will have to get back to the hon. Lady on cross-border issues, but I hope that there will be a sensible outcome on those matters.
Under the current indicative draft, the offence has to be committed in England or Wales, and the person providing the service under the code also has to be in England or Wales. However, we hope that the code will be followed as a matter of good practice in cross-border cases; that would make sense. There has been extensive debate with the parliamentary ombudsman about the regulatory impact issues.
In many parts of the country, excellent standards of service are already being delivered to victims by criminal justice agencies and organisations. We want the code to set the minimum consistent standard of service that victims can expect to receive, wherever they live. Clause 21(2) and (4) allows victims of certain crimes or victims with specific characteristics to be treated differently under the code. That reflects the fact that certain victims, such as victims of rape or domestic violence, may require an enhanced service.
Subsection (3) ensures that services can be provided to people other than victims, such as relatives of victims of homicide or parents of child victims. Subsection (6) ensures that it is not necessary for an offender to be charged or convicted before the victim is entitled to receive services under the code. The test for whether the code should apply in a particular case will therefore depend on a judgment, usually of a police officer, regarding the conduct reported or complained about. The clause is drafted to ensure maximum flexibility for the types of services, organisations and local structures covered by the code of practice.