Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

My Lords, the amendment would give all victims the right to be told about sentences passed in the courts. Yesterday, the Government launched a consultation document called Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses. In the opening sentence, the Lord Chancellor states: "““Proper protection and support for victims of crime is fundamental to my vision of a reformed criminal justice system””." In paragraphs 72 and 73, he makes it clear that it is his intention to opt in to a new EU directive on rights and support for victims of crime. He states also that he believes that victims are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, and, crucially, that victims should receive information. That is the crux of the amendment. I have no doubt about the Government’s good intentions in this matter. At present, once a case has been concluded, either in the courts or in an out-of-court settlement, there is no guarantee—and certainly no formal mechanism—to ensure that that the victim of a crime, if they so wish, is informed of the outcome of the case. In the Crown Court, there is a duty on the probation service to contact victims and their families after someone has been imprisoned for 12 months or more for a sexual or violent crime, but there is no obligation for less serious offences. I felt that it would make sense to put this new duty on the prosecuting agency on behalf of the victim rather than on the Courts Service itself. I did that because the prosecuting agency will already have the contact details on its files, and of course it already informs victims of the progress of their cases as they come to court. The current situation can be remedied by the introduction of a victim information order where a sentencing Bench can order the prosecuting agency to give victims information concerning the sentence itself, the reasons for that sentence, if it is a community order what they are likely to carry out within that order, the commencement and completion of that order and any compensation that may be paid. At present, the victim's views in court are part of something called the victim impact statement. Victim impact statements are a valuable source of information for any sentencing Bench but they are, in my experience, rare. I have been a magistrate for six years and I have read an impact statement only about four or five times, so they are not used very much. They should be used more and they could be used to request a victim information order. Through that mechanism, the victim could ask the court to make sure that they are told about the outcome of the sentence. Whether a victim impact order is made should ultimately be at the discretion of the court, and the court should of course have regard to any cost of making such an order. The only possible objection that I can see to my amendment is the likely cost of making such an order. I would be interested if the Minister could give any information about the likely cost of such an order given the Government’s expressed intent to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. All noble Lords taking part in the Bill will know that there are many organisations representing victims. I have been contacted by a number of them, as I am sure have other noble Lords. They all essentially make the same point, which is that the lack of contact between victims and agencies such as the police, the courts, the prosecution services or the probation service is very often perceived as a lack of action by those agencies. In many cases that is the wrong perception but, even if it is wrong, it clearly undermines the criminal justice system itself. That is no doubt why we hear this admirable ambition of the Government to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. My amendment goes further towards achieving the Government’s aims and I beg to move.