Victims and Courts Bill Committee

Today is the first day of the Victims and Courts Bill Committee, which I’ll be sitting on in my capacity as PPS to the Ministry of Justice.

This Bill will:

Strengthen victims’ rights
Force offenders to attend their sentencing hearing
Create a new Victim Contact Scheme with a dedicated helpline
Further empower the Victims’ Commissioner to uphold victims’ rights and hold public bodies to account when there are failings

I'm pleased to have the chance to help the Justice team in scrutinising the legislation to make sure it’s the best it can be.