Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Schedule 2.

New clause 11—Extension of Victim Contact Scheme—

“(1) The Secretary of State must ensure that the Victim Contact Scheme is made available to—

(a) victims of offenders sentenced to less than 12 months for violent and sexual offences,

(b) victims in cases involving coercive or controlling behaviour, stalking, or harassment, and

(c) bereaved families in manslaughter or death by dangerous driving cases.

(2) The Secretary of State must ensure that information under the Victim Contact Scheme is communicated in a timely and trauma-informed manner.

(3) The Secretary of State must publish data each year on uptake and accessibility of the Victim Contact Scheme.”

I thank Josh Babarinde for tabling new Clause 11, which would expand eligibility for the victim contact scheme, ensure timely and sensitive communication under the scheme, and require the Secretary of State to publish a report covering key data on the scheme. I am pleased to reassure him that victims of coercive or controlling behaviour, stalking and harassment will already be eligible for the new victim contact scheme, regardless of sentence length. I am also pleased to say that bereaved families whose loved ones have died as a result of manslaughter or death by dangerous driving will also be eligible for the scheme where the offender has received a sentence of 12 months or more.

I wholeheartedly agree that victims of violent, sexual and dangerous driving offences that have resulted in a sentence of less than 12 months should also have a clear route to request and receive information about their offender. That is why the Bill guarantees that these cohorts can request information through a new dedicated victim helpline, and where appropriate, they will receive the information. We think this is the right approach. It targets resources and delivers proactive contact through the victim contact scheme to those who need the information most, while still providing a new dedicated helpline for all victims to request information.

Turning to the second part of the new clause, the hon. Member for Eastbourne is right that victims deserve timely communication that is sensitive to their needs, but this is properly a matter of guidance and practice, not primary legislation. The upcoming consultation on the victims code offers an opportunity to consider how we can improve the delivery of the victim contact scheme, and I would welcome all Members’ engagement with that consultation once it launches.

On data collection, I reassure the hon. Member that when we implement the updated scheme, we will look carefully at how and when victims are offered the opportunity to join the scheme and at how that is monitored. That will be done through the new code compliance framework of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which will itself have an annual report. I hope I have reassured the hon. Member that the Government are absolutely committed to supporting victims, and that we are actively considering all the points he has rightly raised. I therefore urge the Liberal Democrats not to press his new clause to a vote.

I am pleased to speak to the provisions in clause 5 and schedule 2, which will improve communication with victims following their offender’s conviction. Without information about their offender’s release from prison, we know that victims live in fear of the unknown. We have heard that it is not currently obvious where they can turn to ask for that information or whether they will be able to receive it.

The Government want to ensure that all victims have a clear route to ask for the information they need to prepare for their offender’s release, and we want to make it clear when that information can be provided. This is why, first, we will establish a new dedicated victim helpline to provide a clear route for all victims to request information and to receive it where they are eligible. Secondly, we will update the victim contact scheme to streamline the system for those currently using the various operational schemes.

Together with the sentencing review, that will simplify the criminal justice system and bring much greater clarity for victims. It will allow victims to plan for an offender’s release, which we know can be critical in violent, sexual and domestic abuse cases. To do that, clause 5 and schedule 2 will establish a clear route for all victims to request information through the new helpline. That can include information about their offender’s release, licence conditions or supervision requirements relating to the victim or their family, as well as any other information that would be appropriate to share.

Victims of certain specified offences will be automatically eligible to receive that information upon request. That includes victims of offences linked to domestic abuse and victims of specified breach orders, such as breaches of sexual harm prevention orders. That applies regardless of the length of the offender’s sentence. Otherwise, information can be provided where the probation service considers that the victim would be at risk of physical or psychological harm.

The Bill will also update the current legislative framework for the victim contact scheme, which is now over 20 years old. It will bring the various operational schemes into one updated victim contact scheme. Victims often say that the criminal justice system can be complex, disjointed and difficult to navigate. We should simplify and rationalise the system where we can. That is why the Bill will streamline the system and provide a clear and more consistent offer to all eligible victims.

Victims of serious violent, sexual and terrorist offences and certain dangerous driving offences for which the offender has received a sentence of 12 months or more, and victims of specified stalking, harassment, and coercive and controlling behaviours, regardless of the length of sentence the offender has received, will be eligible for the victim contact scheme. The updated scheme and the new helpline will apply whether an offender is detained in prison or in hospital. That ensures parity, so that victims are provided with support regardless of where their offender is serving their sentence. We will also ensure that information is provided only where it is appropriate to do so.

The provisions will go further. We will enable the probation service to provide information to victims of other offences, and to witnesses, on a case-by-case basis on request, if they are considered to be at risk of physical or psychological harm. Where necessary, we will include those victims in the victim contact scheme. That means that, no matter the crime, we can provide the right support to those who need it most.

Clause 5 and schedule 2 will also introduce regulation-making powers to amend the list of specified offences and the lengths of sentences for both the victim contact scheme and the helpline. That means that we can keep pace with new criminal behaviours by adding offences into the scope of those services, and that we can adapt to other changes in the criminal justice system as and when they take place. That will ensure that we can continue to support the most vulnerable victims.

Our approach of updating the victim contact scheme and establishing a new dedicated victim helpline will give victims much-needed confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release, which will help them to feel safe.

As the Minister outlined, we are discussing changes primarily to the victim contact scheme and victim helpline. We supported the operation of those services in Government, and it is perfectly in order for the Government to seek to expand them further. But, during the Committee evidence sessions, the Minister will have noted the questions about the resources available to individuals for accessing those services. I note that the witnesses from HM Prison and Probation Service and others felt that there were the necessary resources, or at least that the impact of the expansion on the resource requirements would not be particularly significant, but I would welcome the Minister assuring the Committee that she has done the due diligence necessary to ensure that we do not raise expectations in those expansions and additions to victim support services that are not realised.

I am happy to reassure the hon. Member on that point. These provisions have been drafted in consultation with colleagues, including from HMPPS, to ensure that we have the necessary resources. He will know that we have provided additional funding for the new helpline, and for the additional resources required to expand the victim contact scheme. That is all laid out in the economic impact assessment of the legislation. We will, of course, keep it under review to ensure that adequate resources are available to support victims, and give them the communication that they require.

The Liberal Democrats’ new Clause 11 would give access to the victim contact scheme for victims of violent and sexual offences where the offender is sentenced to less than 12 months. I think the Minister said that such access is included under the provisions of the Bill.

The new clause also mentions access for

“victims in cases involving coercive or controlling behaviour, stalking, or harassment and…death by dangerous driving”.

They are included.

I thank the Minister for clarifying that. New Clause 11 would also require the Government to produce annual reports on the uptake and accessibility of the scheme, increasing transparency and accountability. We believe that it is important to know who is using the scheme so that we can know who is not accessing it. That will help us to improve the scheme, and to widen access to those victims who, for whatever reason, have not heard about the scheme or managed to access it.

On the training for the people managing and running the helpline, could the Minister give me some reassurance that there is funding and capacity available to give adequate training in gender-based violence and the effects of stalking and sexual violence on people, and particularly women, who may be quite scared about the potential release of an offender and what that means?

I thank the hon. Lady for those questions. I can happily and wholeheartedly reassure her on the last point. She will have heard the evidence given the Committee by colleagues in the Probation Service, who were quite forthright about the trauma-informed training provided to call handlers, which is so vital in such cases. They are well used to that, and we have provided additional funding and resources to enable training to continue so that they are well equipped to deal with the increased caseload that the expansion of the scheme and the new helpline will provide. On the annual report, the hon. Lady will have heard me say that there is a duty under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 to provide an annual report on victims code compliance. The victims code includes the right to information—the right to be notified—so that will be included in the compliance report.

However, I take on board the hon. Lady’s comments about the need to make sure that victims are aware of the scheme, and that they are able to apply to it. All that will be brought into the victims code consultation that we will take forward later this year, to ensure that we bring more victims up to speed on what their rights are and what they are entitled to under the criminal justice system. We have a long way to go to ensure that victims are aware of their rights on the whole—not just rights to communication and contact.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 5 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Schedule 2 agreed to.