Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he had made of police force compliance with the Victims' Code in informing a victim on (a) a suspect's bail status and (b) any relevant bail conditions.

The Government is committed to ensuring that victims receive the entitlements set out in the Victims’ Code, including the right to be informed when key decisions are made during a police investigation, such as a suspect's bail status and any relevant bail conditions. That is why in January 2025 a new statutory duty in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 was commenced, which requires agencies who provide Code services to comply with the Code unless there is a good reason not to.

The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 also creates a framework to monitor certain criminal justice agencies’ compliance with the Victims’ Code, including police forces, with duties on those agencies to collect and share information on compliance. Once commenced, the framework will introduce local scrutiny and national oversight of compliance with the Victims' Code. The Victims and Courts Act 2026 strengthened the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner within the framework by requiring the Commissioner to produce their own report on Code compliance, to enable independent oversight of the criminal justice agencies compliance with the Code.

The Government is working with criminal justice agencies, including policing, to develop the data and metrics needed to support the assessment of compliance with the Victims’ Code.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Justice consulted on a new Victims’ Code, seeking views from victims, sector experts, criminal justice practitioners and young people. The consultation included consideration of how agencies communicate with victims and keep them informed throughout the criminal justice process. The Department is now taking the time to consider nearly 200 responses and will issue a public response ahead of finalising the new Code and bringing it into force. The findings will also help inform future work to understand and measure victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system and the delivery of Victims’ Code rights.