The Victims and Courts Bill has received Royal Assent and has passed into law.
The new legislation will restrict the exercise of parental responsibility by offenders sentenced for serious child sexual abuse, and where a rape has resulted in the birth of a child. It will also ensure that victims are not prevented from speaking out against crime and have longer than ever to challenge sentences they don’t feel fit the crime they’ve suffered.
Deputy prime minister and justice secretary David Lammy said: “For too long, too many victims have been left to navigate a justice system where they often felt like an afterthought. Today, that changes.
“The new Victims and Courts Act will make sure that victims’ needs, voices and rights are at the heart of our justice system.
“It is an Act for survivors, for bereaved families and for everyone who has fought to be heard.”
The legislation will also introduce a court order requiring criminals to attend their sentencing hearings or face sanctions if they don’t, ensure that non-disclosure agreements cannot prevent victims from speaking out about criminal conduct to anyone for any reason, and strengthen powers for the victims’ commissioner to better hold the justice system to account and ensure victims receive the support they need.
Alex Davies-Jones, parliamentary under-secretary of state for victims and tackling violence against women and girls, said: “For every victim who has felt let down by the justice system, this legislation sends a powerful message: you matter, your voice matters, and your rights matter.”
Davies-Jones thanked Tracey Hanson, whose son was murdered, and Katie Brett, whose sister was stabbed to death, and the families of murder victims Jan Mustafa, Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Sabina Nessa and Zara Aleena, all of whom she said had “campaigned tirelessly to ensure offenders attend their sentencing so they can finally confront the reality of their crimes”.
She added: “From today, we’re putting victims’ interests at the heart of the justice system, to protect them, support them, and deliver the fairer justice they deserve.”
The new Victims and Courts Act will also give victims confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release by updating post-conviction communication schemes, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.
It will also remove restrictions on who the Crown Prosecution Service can appoint as crown prosecutors, allowing a larger pool of suitably qualified candidates to take on the role.
The new act builds on wider action the government has introduced to support victims and ensure they get the fast and fair justice they deserve, including strengthening the Victims’ Code, investing £550 million over the next three years in specialist victim and witness services, and expanding free access to transcripts of judges’ Crown Court sentencing remarks to all victims who want them.
