Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to comply with the Victims Directive after the UK leaves EU.

The Victim Directive (2012/29/EU) and the Victim Compensation Directive (2004/80/EC) will cease to apply to the UK after the end of the transition period, subject to the winding down provisions contained in the Withdrawal Agreement. The common minimum standards set out in the Victim Directive have been implemented in domestic law; for example, in England and Wales primarily through the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code) issued under section 32 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. These measures are unaffected by the UK’s exit from the EU. Victims of crime injured in Britain may be eligible for the Britain-wide Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme ('the Scheme'), which provides publicly funded compensation to victims who suffer a serious physical or mental injury as the direct result of a violent crime. Awards under the Scheme are a recognition of public sympathy for the pain and suffering caused by violent crime. Where the crime was committed in an EU Member State, victims may be eligible to apply to the compensation scheme in that State, under the European Convention on the Compensation of Victims of Violent Crimes.