Key Facts

• Amendment 19 extends collaborative victim support to include victims of fraud.
• Amendment 82 extends collaborative victim support to include victims of modern slavery.
• The amendment seeks to incorporate the Child House model into the duty to collaborate in clause 12.
• Ministry of Justice data shows a 43% increase in average waiting times for child sexual abuse cases between 2017 and 2021, rising from 276 days to 395 days.
• NSPCC research found that only 23% of local authorities across England and Wales provided dedicated support for young victims in the form of independent and specially trained advisers.
• The Government provided £7.5 million towards a pilot of the UK’s first child house model in Camden.
• Guidance has been published for local partnerships wishing to introduce co-located, child-centred support services.
• The duty to collaborate aims to improve strategic coordination and timely quality support for victims.
• The amendment is supported by Refuge.
• In 2022, fewer than half of survivors who wanted to access community-based services were able to according to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner's report.
• Women’s Aid estimates that £238 million per year is needed for specialist domestic abuse community-based services.
• More than four in five frontline workers surveyed by Refuge said their service is impacted by insufficient funding.
• For financial year 2021-22, more than half of Refuge's income was generated from fundraising sources.
• The Justice Committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny report mentions around £40 million allocated to legal aid access for people who do not like their parole decision.
• Funding for victims’ services is set to more than quadruple by 2024-25, from £41 million in 2009-10.
• An additional £6 million per annum through the spending review period will be provided directly to police and crime commissioners for domestic abuse and sexual violence services.
• Amendment 87 requires relevant authorities in a police area to assess victims' needs, including children and those with protected characteristics.
• Amendment 88 would require authorities to consider the needs assessment when preparing their collaboration strategy.
• The amendments aim for uniform standards across regions for assessing and meeting victim needs.
• Sarah Champion moves Amendment 84.
• 64% of frontline workers surveyed said their services were impacted by short-term contracts.
• Short-term contracts often take the length of the contract for a service to become established in a local area.
• Amendment 85 aims to include persons representing children's victim support services and victims themselves in consultations.
• Amendment 81 seeks to ensure that victims potentially receiving support are consulted during the preparation of strategies.
• London’s Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, supports Amendment 81.
• NSPCC supports Amendment 85.
• At least 500,000 children suffer abuse annually in the UK.
• One in five children has experienced severe maltreatment.
• Over 100,000 cases of child sexual abuse were reported last year.
• Police made nearly 700 referrals a day to social services about domestic abuse in 2021.
• Amendment 85 would require consultation of providers of support services for child victims.
• Clause 13(2)(b) already requires authorities to consult persons representing victim support service providers.
• Clause 14 will issue statutory guidance detailing considerations and standards for consultation.
• Amendment 16 aims to insert a requirement in clause 13 for the relevant authorities to consider any guidance prepared by the Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses.
• The Minister agrees on the importance of involving representatives of victims but prefers not to specify individuals or organisations, favouring flexibility in statutory guidance instead.
• Sarah Champion proposes amendment 90 to ensure that assessments of victim support services are considered when preparing collaboration strategies.
• Amendment 86 requires annual reports containing information about action taken to implement the strategy and compliance with collaboration duties.
• New clause 9 establishes a police and crime panel's duty to review and publish annual reports on how relevant authorities fulfill victim support functions.
• The new clause mandates sending copies of these reports to the Secretary of State for publication.
• Amendment 86 would require relevant authorities to publish an annual report detailing their compliance with victim support functions.
• New clause 9 aims to place responsibility on the police and crime panel to review compliance with the duty to collaborate.
• The police and crime panels were established in 2011 to scrutinise PCCs effectively.
• Amendment 86 would require annual reports about the implementation of the strategy.
• New clause 9 establishes a review mechanism for collaboration duties under clauses 12 and 13.
• Local strategies must be reviewed annually and revised fully approximately every four years.
• Clause 14 deals with local authority collaboration on victim support services.
• The discussion focuses on how strategies should be informed by victim needs and existing assessments.
• Stewart Hosie proposed amendment 56 in clause 15.
• The amendment seeks to include independent stalking advocacy caseworkers in the guidance provided by the Secretary of State.
• In 2019-20, there were more than 1.5 million estimated victims of stalking but only 3,506 stalkers were charged.
• Only 304 out of the 3,506 stalkers received custodial sentences in 2019-20.
• Stalking advocates have a significant impact on improving victim experiences; 90% of respondents to Suzy Lamplugh Trust research stated that their stalking advocate helped them navigate the criminal justice system.
• Only 77% of victims accessed a stalking advocate, while 69% received no advocacy at all.
• The Government introduced stalking protection orders in 2020, with almost 1,000 issued in the first 23 months.
• The Home Office provided £160,430 between April 2022 and March 2023 to part-fund the national stalking helpline run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.
• Victims supported by an advocate have a one-in-four chance of their perpetrator getting convicted compared to a one-in-1,000 chance for those without.
• Amendment 61 introduces 'specialist community-based service'.
• Amendment 58 modifies clause 15 by adding '(c)'
• Amendment 59 inserts detailed guidance on roles, services, collaborations, and qualifications.
• Amendment 60 provides further definition for the service providers under the new amendments.
• The inclusion of guidance and IDVAs/ISVAs in the Bill is welcomed.
• Most victims do not go into the criminal justice system for support.
• 83% of victims want counselling or therapeutic support via community-based services.
• Women’s Aid reported that 187,000 children and 156,000 women were supported by community-based services in a single year.
• Southall Black Sisters is highlighted as an example of vital 'by and for' support for minoritised women.
• 50% of black and minoritised specialist refuges have closed or been taken over due to lack of funding since 2010.
• Disabled women are twice as likely to experience domestic abuse and rape compared to non-disabled women.
• Nationally, only 3.9% of referrals to multi-agency risk assessment conferences are disabled victims.
• Stay Safe East is a user-led specialist organisation supporting disabled victims with four staff members.
• Amendments 62 and 61 seek to expand clause 15 to include guidance on specialist community-based services.
• The Government agrees there should be no hierarchy in funding and commissioning support services but disagrees with statutory guidance covering all advocate roles or specialized community-based services.
• The Minister is working on draft guidance that will frame these roles within a wider support sector without creating hierarchies.
• The new clause requires an assessment within six months of the Act's passing.
• The Secretary of State must publish annual assessments thereafter.
• Support services vary significantly around the country, affecting victims' access to crucial support.
• Amendments relate to the provisions on data protection in Clause 22.
• These changes ensure terminology consistency across the Bill.
• The amendments remove superfluous words and do not constitute a policy change.
• Clause 23 of the Victims and Prisoners Bill addresses the repeal of existing provisions in the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.
• The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman will accept complaints about the victims code under the new framework.
• The Victims’ Commissioner is responsible for overseeing the operation of the code.