Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to help ensure that police forces notify victims of any bail conditions imposed on a suspect that are in place for the victim's safety.

We know the devastating impact that crime can have on a victim, and how stalking and harassment can leave victims living in fear going about their day-to-day lives. That is why the Government recognises the importance of victims being kept informed about developments in their case.

The police are required to notify victims of bail conditions by requirements in the Victims’ Code (the Code). The Code sets out the minimum level of service that victims of crime in England and Wales are entitled to receive from criminal justice agencies, including the police. It includes a number of statutory rights which require victims to be kept informed of key developments in their case, including being told about any bail conditions imposed on a suspect and any subsequent changes to those conditions.

Decisions on the management of individual investigations are operational matters for police forces. The College of Policing's Authorised Professional Practice on victim and witness care also states that victims should be kept informed at all stages of an investigation and they should be told when a suspect is released under investigation, charged, or released on bail. In addition, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 strengthened the pre-charge bail framework by introducing a duty to seek victims' views when imposing or varying bail conditions, to ensure that those conditions better protect all victims.