UK Parliament / Open data

Victims and Prisoners Bill

Proceeding contribution from Lord Roborough (Conservative) in the House of Lords on Tuesday, 23 April 2024. It occurred during Debate on bills on Victims and Prisoners Bill.

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Bach, for his amendment, which seeks to introduce a consistent victim identifier for the collection and sharing of code compliance information.

The Government agree that data is a vital tool to help better understand victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system and whether and how they are receiving the relevant entitlements under the victims’ code. That is precisely why the Bill also introduces duties on criminal justice agencies to collect, share and jointly review code compliance information.

In addition, to respond to the questions and comments of many noble Lords, our existing Better Outcomes through Linked Data, or BOLD, programme is already exploring linking system data about victims’ interactions to improve our understanding of victims’ experiences. The BOLD programme is funded by HM Treasury’s shared outcomes fund from 2021 to 2024; it is a long-term project conducted by the Ministry of Justice to improve our understanding of victims’ experiences. BOLD has just received an extra year’s funding to continue exploring data and data linking until March 2025. It has been created to demonstrate how people with complex needs can be better supported by linking and improving the government data held on them in a safe and secure way.

The Ministry of Justice is leading on a victims’ pilot that seeks to share and link data to help improve outcomes for victims. We hope that it will unlock insights into supporting victims of crime, such as understanding their end-to-end journeys and experiences, the effectiveness of victim services and the factors behind victim attrition rates at different stages of the criminal justice system. This is a proof-of-concept research project, and findings on the BOLD victims’ pilot will be published in 2024 and 2025. The pilot has initially focused on exploring what data is available in both criminal justice system agencies and victim services, particularly at a local level through partnership with Synergy Essex, a partnership of rape and sexual abuse centres in Essex.

The pilot work is a necessary precursor to data linking, and this essential precursor work should be completed first. As BOLD shares findings and as the duties in the Bill begin to be operationalised by bodies, the emergent picture will inform future innovation on how data can be used to improve the victim experience. In response to the noble Lord, Lord Russell of Liverpool, I say that this demonstrates the Government acknowledging and addressing the issue.

5.30 pm

Two areas would need significant thought before we move beyond the current work in train and commit to an approach in primary legislation. This is a very material undertaking and I agree with the comments from the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, on exactly that. First, a victim identifier has the potential to be linked to a great deal of personal and inherently sensitive data. Careful thought would be needed to ensure that such innovation would appropriately consider data protection rules and not inadvertently deter victims from engaging with the criminal justice system due to nervousness over privacy concerns or other issues. Secondly, this could require at least 42 police forces

and a number of national agencies to be equipped with the necessary and consistent technology to facilitate such a system. One cannot shy away from the potentially significant resourcing implications and cost impacts of implementing such a cross-agency system. There are, no doubt, many more considerations aside that should be properly worked through before a solution is arrived at.

On the tragic case cited by the noble Lord, Lord Bach, I say that there is considerable work on information sharing and what we can and hope to do better, which we will discuss in future groups not concerned with victim identifiers. While future approaches to understanding and improving the victim experience may include a new system of unique victim identifiers, I do not agree that primary legislation would be the appropriate way to establish it at this point. I therefore respectfully ask that the noble Lord withdraws this amendment.

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
837 cc1411-2 
Session
2023-24
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
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