I thank the Shadow Minister for tabling amendments 11 and 12, which would place a statutory duty on the Secretary of State to consult the Victims’ Commissioner when preparing and revising the new victims code. The Victims’ Commissioner and their office are a vital and powerful voice for victims, and part of the commissioner’s statutory duty is to keep the operation of the code under review. In highlighting that, I will go a little further than the hon. Lady by paying tribute not only to Dame Vera Baird, but to Helen Newlove and Louise Casey. I think Louis Casey was the original Victims’ Commissioner, and Helen followed her in that role. In their different ways, all three have brought a huge focus and passion to the role, and I want to put on the record my gratitude to them all.

We have routinely engaged with the Victims’ Commissioner’s office on matters concerning the code since last September, and we will continue to do so when a new Victims’ Commissioner is appointed. As I highlighted in the previous sitting—I think it was after being prompted by a question from the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Cardiff North—a recruitment process is under way, with the new Lord Chancellor taking a very close interest so that we get the right person into this vital post. I am keen to see it filled as swiftly as possible with someone of the calibre of the three individuals who have already held the post.

We recognise that it is essential that we consult experts, including the Victims’ Commissioner, when preparing or revising the code to ensure that it continues to reflect the needs of victims. The Bill already requires public consultation on the draft code under Clause 3(4) and, naturally, the Department engages thoroughly with the Victims’ Commissioner and their office as part of that process, as we always have done in the past. Public consultation provides an opportunity for a wide range of relevant stakeholders, practitioners and victims to make representations to the Government. For that reason, we do not consider it necessary to formally list each relevant stakeholder in legislation, including the Victims’ Commissioner, as the amendments would do.

I do recognise—the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Cardiff North, may have alluded to it—that one role is listed for consultation: the Attorney General. That consultation is required ahead of the public consultation on the code and is explicitly included to reflect the Attorney General’s shared responsibility for the delivery of the criminal justice system and for the impact of the code. As hon. Members will know, ministerial responsibilities across the criminal justice system involve the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the Home Secretary and the Attorney General. By practice, the Secretary of State for Justice will consult the Home Secretary as part of the process of preparing, issuing and revising the code. The Home Secretary, as the other Minister with direct operational delivery responsibilities, is not explicitly referred to because the technical drafting convention is that different Secretaries of State are not named in legislation.

I hope that I have provided assurance that the Victims’ Commissioner and their office will continue to be engaged on matters concerning the code, and that the hon. Member for Cardiff North will find those assurances satisfactory.

Clause 3 sets out the procedure for preparing and issuing the victims code. It restates the provisions in chapter 1 of part 3 of the domestic violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, and requires the Secretary of State to prepare a draft code, to consult the Attorney General and hold a public consultation on it—that is crucial—and to lay the new code before Parliament and bring the code into operation by way of regulations. Clause 3 will ensure that there is proper external and parliamentary scrutiny of the new victims code before it comes into effect, so that it reflects the needs and services required, and the expertise of a broad range of interested stakeholders.

Clause 4 sets out the procedure for amending the victims code. It includes the same requirements for consultation and parliamentary scrutiny that are in clause 3. However, it also allows for the Secretary of State to make minor amendments without the need for public consultation. We recognise that it is vital to safeguard the victims code, and to ensure that there is proper consultation and the involvement of expertise when revising any future victims code. That is why the clause ensures that changes cannot be made to the code without that oversight, and cannot be made in a way that could significantly impact the quality, extent or reach of services. However, it is important that we can make minor amendments, such as corrections or clarifications when new procedures come into force, without a full lengthy public consultation. Doing so is prevented within existing legislation for the code and restricts our ability to keep the code up to date. The clause will allow us to update the code more quickly when genuinely minor changes are needed.