Did you mean victims heard criminal justice system?
Alistair Carmichael: ..., and it is the accountability that matters. The current Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain, has already said, on the record, that “not every case involving Horizon evidence will be a miscarriage of justice and each case must be considered carefully and with regard to the law. It is also important to recognise” —as others have said here— “the important…constitutional role of our...
Siobhian Brown: The cabinet secretary is currently taking through Parliament the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which will put victims and witnesses at the heart of the justice system, and will include their need for a trauma-informed approach. The victims task force has commissioned work to explore models of a victim-centred approach to justice, with the goal of providing a single...
Kevin Foster: ...someone waits in custody, and we need to look at how to get more people coming into it. The overall figures do not show how stark the facts are in some regions. There are literally zero practising criminal law solicitors working in the system aged under 35 in Cornwall, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. Not one person who started their legal career in the last 12 years is...
Baroness Fox of Buckley: ...in jail, effectively indefinitely, all due to this abolished and discredited sentence. They are not helped enough by the Bill. This resentencing amendment—Amendment 167—which is based on the Justice Committee’s recommendation, would resolve this iniquity. That is why it is backed by all serious commentators, professionals and campaigners on the issue. However, I already know that the...
Angela Constance: B efore I make the statement, it is important that I make it clear that while legal proceedings in the Emma Caldwell case remain live, I must be careful not to refer to any details of the criminal case itself. In addition, I know that members will understand that, at this time, there are restrictions on what I can say and on the level of detail that I can offer, both in the statement and in...
Rachel Maclean: ...of the nation where they settle.” Roger Scruton wrote those words in 2004. I have often spoken of the generous and welcoming nature of the people of Redditch. My constituents have opened their hearts and their homes and shown love to strangers from Syria, Ukraine and all over the world who are now our neighbours and friends. But as a Conservative, I defend my right to tell the truth to...
Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames: ...I will speak only to Amendments 78 and 79, in the names of the noble Baronesses, Lady Thornton and Lady Hamwee. They call for free independent legal advocates and free independent legal advice for victims of rape, and I support the principle behind them. I take the point made by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, that they do not necessarily talk about advocacy in court,...
Lord Roborough: ...Cumnock, would require the Secretary of State to publish guidance about older people’s IDVAs and ISVAs. The Government recognise the vital support that older people’s advisers provide to older victims of these terrible crimes. The advisers offer invaluable emotional support, provide a focus on safety and help them navigate the criminal justice system. As I have indicated in relation to...
Lord Bach: Moved by Lord Bach 34A: Clause 6 page 5 line 25, at end insert—“(4A) Regulations under subsection (2) must require information about compliance with the victims’ code to be linked to a consistent victim identifier that is used across the agencies of the criminal justice system.”Member's explanatory statementThis amendment comes from the perspective that achieving the...
Lord Bellamy: ...subsequent groups today. The amendments in this group essentially seek stronger compliance mechanisms, credibility, as has been said, more specific obligations on training and a wider role for the Victims’ Commissioner—in other words, we are in the field of awareness and accountability, to use two of my four “A’s”. The Government would not be proceeding with this structure if...
Lord Russell of Liverpool: ...group: Amendments 37 to 46, 50 and 83. They come in three groups. Amendment 30 is to do with requiring the Secretary of State to set minimum threshold levels of compliance for each right of the victims’ code, carrying on from the discussion that we had on the previous group. The group of amendments consecutive from Amendment 44 seek to place a statutory duty on the Victims’...
Baroness Newlove: My Lords, I speak in support of Amendment 23. In my previous term as Victims’ Commissioner, a government lawyer once described the victims’ code to me as “persuasive guidance”. Those two words spoke volumes to me, because they go to the very heart of what is going wrong with the treatment of victims in our criminal justice system. If the Bill is to have a substantial impact on the...
Baroness O'Loan: ...not be implemented until the mechanisms and processes it establishes have been given effect. For the moment, they are aspirational. Anyone who has been involved in the process of establishing new systems and mechanisms knows that these things are not done properly, even in a country such as the UK, which has the advantage of a long-established judicial and criminal justice system and is...
Lord Polak: My Lords, I support the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, on Amendment 5. The Bill offers a landmark opportunity to make a difference to victims’ and survivors’ lives and has the potential to restore confidence in our criminal justice system. As noble Lords know, alongside organisations focused on supporting women and children, and together with many other noble Lords from across the House, we...
Baroness Watkins of Tavistock: ...people who have suffered as a result of a crime committed by a patient with a mental health disorder who is detained in hospital under a restriction order are afforded the same rights under the victims’ code as victims of offenders who are held in the prison estate. This is not the case presently. The amendments seek to extend the principle that all victims have a right to be heard in...
Saqib Bhatti: ...everyday lives. That includes benefits for fraud prevention, on which we are working closely with the Home Office and other Departments across Government. Properly used, AI can and does form the heart of systems that manage risk, detect suspect activity and prevent millions of scam texts from reaching potential victims. However, as my hon. Friend rightly identified, AI also brings...
Lord Weir of Ballyholme: ...Post offices were quite often targeted as the easiest and most vulnerable target of organised crime, terrorism and local villainy whenever robberies were being pursued. Those are the people at the heart of the scandal before us. It is right that this legislation is just one piece of the jigsaw. It is important that the inquiry deals with accountability at both an organisational and an...
Jess Phillips: ...killing explicitly in sentencing. New clause 27 would do that. It would introduce honour-based abuse as an aggravating factor in murder cases. Such a new clause will increase confidence in the criminal justice system, sending a strong message that this violence can never be accepted, excused or ignored. As the Women and Equalities Committee stated, an explicit reference “would strengthen...
James Cleverly: ...final report concluded seven years of investigations. It exposed widespread child sexual abuse and significant institutional failings spanning several decades. It captured harrowing accounts from victims and survivors – over 7,000 of them – who bravely came forward to share their testimonies with the Inquiry. When the Government published its response to the Inquiry’s final report...
Baroness Brinton: .... If I pick up where the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, finished, on the change of the law, that is a useful clarification because if the law—even though it is there—is not being used by the criminal justice system, it is failing. I hope we will all be able to get behind that amendment when it comes through in the Criminal Justice Bill. When I read the report, my heart sank. There are some...