Crime and Policing Bill (Tenth sitting)

Lauren Sullivan Excerpts

Committee stage
Thursday 24th April 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Jess Phillips]

As I was saying before we were so democratically interrupted, amendment 50 seeks to place a duty on the police to notify victims when an offender intends to change their name. Again, I entirely understand the intention behind the amendment, but the police are already able to disclose information, on a discretionary basis, to protect victims from further harm.

It is important to note that many victims will simply not want to be notified of information relating to the perpetrator of the crime, especially if they have made considerable efforts to move on with their lives. I handled a case of this type very recently. A woman came to see me about her abusive father. She had not heard from him or anything of him for decades, and the effect of the notification on her was one of calamity: it was to see her life turned upside down by something she had moved past.

One can only ask how we would administer such a system, with an opt-in and opt-out, when we are talking, specifically in relation to sex offender notification systems, of periods of decades. Therefore, although I absolutely recognise the intention behind the amendment, I wonder whether cases can be cited in which this type of notification would have made a difference but did not happen. I would be happy to hear from and speak to the hon. Member for Stockton West about that.

[Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. Does my hon. Friend the Minister agree with me that, given the lifelong trauma from such offences, and the ongoing mental health struggles that could be triggered by such a notification, we need to put victims at the heart of everything that we do? How can we ensure that measures like this enable that to happen?

[Jess Phillips]

I have met victims of childhood sexual abuse, for example, who have suffered trauma years and years into the future. I have to say that, in recent years, that has been very badly exacerbated by delays in our courts system. I have worked with children who were sexually abused in childhood, who do not see the inside of a courtroom until they are adults, causing a period of developmental delay in their lives. Their lives remain on hold while they are waiting for a system to deliver something for them. I have seen that affect their working lives. I have seen it affect their mental health beyond anything that should have happened. Sometimes state failure has exacerbated that, so we have to have a pragmatic system that allows for the risk to be assessed and the needs of the victim to be assessed to see whether notification would be a requirement, and that currently exists.

New clause 55 seeks to introduce a requirement for data on the employment status of convicted sex offenders to be published on an annual basis. I reassure the hon. Member for Stockton West that registered sex offenders are managed under multi-agency public protection arrangements and will already have in place a risk management plan that considers employment information. That would allow the offender managers to manage risks around employment post conviction. The police may record the employment status of individuals on their systems where that is relevant, but to routinely require forces to collate and publish employment data would have questionable gains. Such resources are considerably better focused on the management of offenders.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data annually on registered sex offenders who are subject to multi-agency public protection arrangements, and we are confident that the police already have the systems in place to record appropriate data to ensure that offenders are managed according to their risk. I recognise the spirit in which the amendments were tabled but, given what I have said, I hope that the hon. Member for Stockton West will withdraw his amendment.

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[Dr Sullivan]

I rise to speak in support of clauses 69 to 72, which would enhance legal protections for victims of stalking. As the Member of Parliament for Gravesham, I know deeply how stalking affects victims. I have met several women at my surgeries whose lives have been turned upside down. They plan their movements to avoid being tracked, fear being spotted by their stalker or that the stalker will do something more, and have to deal with the impact on their wider lives, families, neighbours and community. These women are alone and exposed, and feel very vulnerable in their own homes and out in their community. The Government are right to act, and clauses 69 and 70 mark a significant shift by allowing courts, not just the police, to impose stalking protection orders. Upon conviction or even acquittal, courts will now have the power to step in when it is clear that there is a risk of stalking.

I pay tribute to the extraordinary work of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which is the UK’s leading stalking charity, having helped more than 70,000 victims to find a path of safety. This week is National Stalking Awareness Week, so this discussion could not be more timely. In its 2023 report “I just want this to be over”, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust laid bare the lived experience of stalking victims in our criminal justice system. What it found is sobering. The report depicts widespread mischarging by the Crown Prosecution Service, with stalking cases being downgraded to harassment or missed altogether. One victim that it cites was told that her stalker’s behaviour was just “unpleasant”, not criminal. Her case was closed, only to be reopened after months of persistence and trauma. Victims who are strong enough to come forward are being told that they have to prove that they are in danger to a system that doubts, delays or deflects. Clauses 69 and 70 will change that.

Another reminder of the incredible danger of stalking is the fact that 94% of women killed by their male partners were stalked beforehand. That is not a warning sign; it is a flashing red light. Victims cannot wait for an eviction; they need protection now, and that is what the Bill delivers. That is how we will rebuild our faith in the justice system and tell every woman and girl in this country that they do not have to prove their fear before they are protected. I commend the clauses and the Government’s commitment to a justice system that sees, hears and stands up for victims.

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[Dr Sullivan]

Today, with clause 73, we are saying clearly and finally that spiking is a crime. Spiking is a violation, and it will not be tolerated. For too long, this country has failed to name it for what we know it is. Until now, victims have had to navigate a patchwork of old laws dating back to the 19th century—sections 23 and 24 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. What is going on there?

Those provisions criminalised the behaviour, but they never used the word. They never gave victims the clarity or the recognition they deserved. This clause changes that. It repeals those outdated offences and replaces them with the single, modern offence of administering a harmful substance, including by spiking.

I cannot overstate how important naming the offence is; it draws a clear legal and cultural line in the sand. Spiking is not just some nuisance behaviour. It is not a prank. It is an act of control, violation and harm, and it comes in many forms. Whether it be drink spiking, needle spiking, vape spiking or even food spiking, it is a predatory act and it can happen to anyone.

Some of us may know someone who has been spiked—a friend, a colleague or someone we care about—and yet, how often is there justice? How often do we know who did it? The Home Office tells us that, between May 2022 and April 2023, the police received 6,732 reports of spiking, with nearly 1,000 involving needles. That is over 500 reports a month. However, Stamp Out Spiking, the UK’s leading anti-spiking charity, from which we heard in the evidence session, says that over 97% of victims do not even report it to the police. Why? They are not sure that the law will help, and for years there was no offence with the word “spiking” in it—that ends today.

I pay tribute to my local Gravesham street pastors who walk the streets of Gravesend town centre on Friday and Saturday nights, giving out anti-spiking devices, educating partygoers, looking after people and providing comfort and support.

[David Burton-Sampson (Southend West and Leigh) (Lab)]

I, too, welcome clause 73. Does my hon. Friend agree that more needs to be done to prevent spiking? The Government need to work with other partners, such as the police, venues and transport, as set out in their plans for spiking in November last year. Does my hon. Friend agree that that provides a more holistic approach, beyond just what is in clause 73?

[Dr Sullivan]

I absolutely agree. We must also work with the voluntary sector, including Stamp Out Spiking, and in education and youth services we must shout from the rooftops that this behaviour is not acceptable and is seriously damaging.

Let us be honest: in December 2022 the Conservative Government said that there was

“no gap in the existing law”

and refused to act. It was only after public pressure, and the publication of a damning report under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, that they changed course. It has now fallen to this Government to finish the job, and I am proud that we are doing so. The new offence will be triable either way, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, which applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For the first time, it sends a clear message: if an individual spikes someone and violates their autonomy, safety and night out, the law will hold them to account.

The Bill represents a broader cultural shift—one we have already seen in its response to stalking, intimate image abuse and violence against women and girls. With clause 73 we are putting our foot down and saying, “No more blurred lines, no more excuses and no more evasion. Spiking is illegal, full stop.”

[Luke Taylor]

I was not going to speak, but reflecting on the Conservative amendments, particularly amendment 44, took me back to our evidence session. There was a particularly helpful contribution from Colin Mackie of Spike Aware UK, who talked about his campaign on spiking having picked up on revenge and pranking. He was asked a particularly good question by the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East about the words used in the Bill, particularly “annoy”. The ideas of pranking and revenge came out of his evidence, so will the Minister consider accepting amendment 44?

I also want to pick up the wider point about the need to work with all those involved, such as by working with not only nightclubs but bouncers, so that their qualifications require them to reflect on whether someone is out of control and drunk or has actually been spiked. We also need training at A&Es so that evidence can be taken and preserved if spiking is found to be the cause, rather than somebody just having had too much to drink. The clause is a good measure—it reflects the campaigning from Colin Mackie and groups like Spike Aware UK—but we should reflect on the wording and whether it is sensible to include amendment 44.