My Lords, briefly, we await with interest the Government’s response. Certainly, the amendment would appear to fill in a gap in this part of the Bill, since one’s understanding of restorative justice was
that it was at least as important, if not more important, for the victim as it was for the offender. Yet while the relevant clause provides for participating,
“in an activity … where the participants consist of … the offender and one or more of the victims”,
it then goes on to say,
“which aims to maximise the offender’s awareness of the impact of the offending concerned on the victims”.
It would appear as though the view in this part of the Bill is that the offender’s needs and awareness are regarded as rather more important than those of the victim or victims. I conclude by saying that my understanding of restorative justice is that it is there for the benefit of the victims as least as much as, if not more than, that of offenders.