Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of crime were consulted before the perpetrator was released in each of the last three years.

The Victim Contact Scheme enables victims of offenders who receive a sentence of imprisonment of 12 months or more or a hospital order, for violent or sexual offences, to be informed at key stages of the offender’s sentence. Key stages include any transfer to open prison conditions. Victims will also be informed of the prospective date of release.

Where the offender is serving a determinate sentence, the release date is fixed. Victims will be informed of the expected month of release very early following sentence and will be updated should this date change - for example, if the offender receives added days.

Where the offender is subject to discretionary release by the Parole Board, the victim will be informed early in the sentence of the month in which the offender will become eligible for consideration for release, and be informed of the Parole Board’s decision, including if this is to release the offender.

Where release is subject to a Parole Board hearing the victim has the right to make a Victim Personal Statement. The Victim Personal Statement (VPS) provides victims with a valuable opportunity to tell the Parole Board how the prisoner’s offence has affected them or their family and what the impact of the prisoner’s release will be on them. The victim can apply to the Parole Board to read the VPS in person, with the presumption that the Parole Board will agree to this. The right to make a VPS to the Parole Board, and to apply to read it in person, was enshrined in the revised Victims Code which was published in October 2013.

The Victim Contact Scheme also provides a statutory right for victims to make representations about the licence conditions that should be in place on release, to reassure and protect them, and to be informed which conditions have been included on the licence as a result of their request. These will typically be exclusion zones to reduce the risks of unexpected contact, and to prohibit contact with the victim.

The National Offender Management Service does not record information centrally in relation to the number of victims who make a VPS and has not made an estimate of this number.

In September this year, we published “Our Commitment to Victims” undertaking to do more to help victims navigate the criminal justice system, access the information and support they need, protect vulnerable victims and witnesses in court and to guarantee their rights in law.