Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing the revised Victims’ Code; what estimate he has made of additional staffing requirements across police forces, the Crown Prosecution Service and victim support services; whether implementation has been assessed by police force area; and if he will publish the implementation plan and associated costings.

The total present value cost of implementing the new Victims’ Code is estimated to be £11.9 million over a 10-year appraisal period. This includes costs that the police and HMPPS will incur associated with increased interaction with victims. This estimate is based on the draft new Code which we recently consulted on and a full breakdown of the cost benefit analysis can be found in the impact assessment published alongside that consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-new-victims-code.

We are now taking the time to consider nearly 200 responses we received in response to the consultation. We will issue a public response ahead of finalising and then implementing the new Code.