Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he will take to improve support for victims in the criminal justice system.

Supporting victims of crime is a priority for this government. We know that victim support services are crucial for victims to rebuild and recover from the impact of crime. We are increasing the funding for these services to £192 million a year by 2024/25, an uplift of 92% on core budgets in 2020/21 and more than quadruple the level in 2009/10 (£41 million). We have committed £154 million of this budget per annum on a multi-year basis, for the next three years (2022/23 to 2024/25 inclusive), allowing victim support services to build capacity and strengthen resilience.

In May, we published a draft Victims Bill, along with a wider package of measures, that will strengthen oversight of criminal justice agencies, amplify victims’ voices in the criminal justice process and improve the support they receive.

We received the Justice Select Committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny report on the draft Victims Bill on 30 September and are carefully considering the recommendations.