Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chris Ruane and Damian Green
Tuesday 18th March 2014

(11 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Chris Ruane Portrait Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)
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13. What his policy is on support for victims of crimes.

Damian Green Portrait The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green)
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The Government are committed to providing more support than ever to victims of crime, and to giving them a louder voice in the criminal justice system. We have implemented a new victims code that tells people what to expect at every stage of the process. We aim to spend up to £100 million to support victims to cope and where possible recover from crime. This is roughly double what we currently spend, with offenders paying a much greater share. Last month we announced the first dedicated fund of £500,000 to support victims of male rape.

Chris Ruane Portrait Chris Ruane
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The Minister speaks of a code of practice. Will he confirm that if it is ignored by the police or the courts, the victim has no recourse whatsoever? The code is, in effect, toothless.