The Act places an overarching duty on the specified bodies to keep their Code compliance under review. It also places a duty on Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to keep under review the Code compliance of criminal justice bodies in their local police area. This duty will help ensure there is effective and consistent oversight, providing a clear picture of Code compliance for criminal justice bodies to drive up standards of the service for victims.
	As part of this overarching duty, this Act places a duty on each of the criminal justice bodies to collect prescribed information relating to the provision of services in the police area. This information will include victim feedback, with provision within the Act to facilitate the collection of feedback by a third party, if required.
	The Act also places a duty on the specified bodies to share information with one another and with PCCs, in order to support them in their duties to keep Code compliance under review. It also requires the criminal justice bodies and PCCs to jointly review the information that has been shared.
	PCCs will also be required to share specified information collected pertaining to Code compliance with the Secretary of State, together with reports on specified matters in connection with the review of the information, so that the department can build a coherent picture of how the criminal justice system is delivering for victims and witnesses.
	To bolster oversight of Code compliance, the Act requires the Secretary of State (in practice the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Justice) and the Attorney General to jointly keep Code compliance under review and publish an annual report on Code compliance having consulted the Victims’ Commissioner.
	To give confidence that action will be taken where agencies’ Code compliance falls short, the Act provides for the Secretary of State (in practice the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Justice) and the Attorney General to issue Non-Compliance Notifications to relevant bodies or PCCs where they agree that their Code compliance is unsatisfactory, which must also be published. The Act requires such notifications to only be issued following consultation with the Victims’ Commissioner, who will provide independent scrutiny.
	The non-territorial police forces do not operate by police area and therefore do not fit within the same governance structure as local police forces. The Act therefore provides a separate process for oversight of Code compliance for the Ministry of Defence Police and the British Transport Police. As with the duty on territorial forces, the Chief Constable of the Ministry of Defence Police and the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police are required to keep under review their Code compliance and to collect and share prescribed information relating to the provision of services and will be required to review this information.
	The mechanism for them to share and review the information differs from territorial forces by involving a separate body in the absence of a PCC (but under the same requirements), namely, the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Defence Police (which in practice will be the Secretary of State for Defence) and the British Transport Police Authority for British Transport Police. The British Transport Police Authority are required to jointly review the information shared with them by The Chief Constable of the British Transport Police and to share information, together with reports in connection with the review of the information, with the Secretary of State. The Chief Constable of the Ministry of Defence Police is required to review and share information with the Secretary of State who is required to prepare reports on matters in connection with the review of information. A memorandum of understanding will be used to set out arrangements relating to the sharing of information, where it is anticipated that the Chief Constable of the Ministry of Defence Police will review and share the information with the Secretary of State for Defence who will then share information and reports with the Secretary of State for Justice.
	This will ensure that all police forces (those that operate at a local and national level) have parity of expectations in the service delivered to victims.
	The Act contains powers for the Secretary of State to make regulations in respect of the duties placed on the specified bodies. These regulations may prescribe the different information to be collected or shared by them (and the form in which it should be collected and shared or require it to be provided in a form specified in a notice), for the overall purposes of keeping Code compliance under review. It is intended that the information to be collected and shared will include: (i) compliance data relating to the delivery of the different services under the Victims’ Code; and (ii) data relating to the experiences of users of those services, particularly victims’ feedback regarding services received.
	To ensure transparency at every level, the Secretary of State is required to publish information which enables the public to assess the compliance with the Victims’ Code. PCCs will be required to take reasonable steps to make members of the public in their area aware of how to access this information.
	The Act also contains a requirement for the Secretary of State to issue guidance in respect of the discharge of the above duties and any person subject to the duties must have regard to the guidance.
	The Act requires that the Victims’ Commissioner, as well as anyone else the Secretary of State deems appropriate, is consulted on the regulations and statutory guidance underpinning Code compliance and awareness measures.
	The Act requires the Secretary of State to publish and implement, in consultation with the Victims’ Commissioner, a strategy for providing mandatory training on the contents and application of the Victims’ Code for relevant staff of specified authorities. The strategy must be reviewed and updated every three years.
Policy background Monitoring compliance with the Victims’ Code