Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to commence section 8 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2025; and what steps she is taking produce the framework to review compliance with the Victims Code.

We are committed to ensuring that victims receive the service they deserve under the Code. This is why earlier this year we commenced the new statutory obligation from the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which requires those who provide Code services to comply with the Code unless there is a good reason not to. We have also commenced other measures from the 2024 Act that will help the Victims’ Commissioner to hold bodies to account for how they are delivering for victims, including by placing a duty on certain authorities to respond to the Commissioner’s recommendations and to cooperate with reasonable requests from the Commissioner.

We are building on these powers through the Victims and Courts Bill, which will provide the Victims’ Commissioner with new tools to drive systemic change. We will also consult on a new Code in due course to make sure we get the foundations for victims right.

If victims feel that they have not received the service they can expect as set out in the Victims’ Code, there are formal complaints processes that service providers are required to provide. If victims are not happy with a service provider’s complaint response, they can now complain directly to the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman without going through an MP.

The Government is committed to ensuring that victims can access the information and support they need. The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 created a framework to monitor criminal justice agencies' compliance with the Victims' Code, including legislative duties for agencies to collect and share information on Code compliance.

The framework has not yet been commenced - preparatory work is underway, for example actively engaging with criminal justice agencies on the underlying data that will support the development of the framework.