Subsection (1) places a duty on a number of authorities (as defined in subsections (2) and (3)) working in a police area in England (the area for which a Police and Crime Commissioner is responsible as listed in schedule 1 to the Police Act 1996, as well as the metropolitan police district and the City of London police area) in the exercise of their functions in relation to relevant victim support services.
	Subsection (1A) explains that, for the purposes of the subsection (1) duty, a relevant authority exercises a function in relation to relevant victim support services if it exercises the function in relation to the provision of such services, or the commissioning of such services provided by another person.
	Subsections (2) and (3) explain that the relevant authorities are:
local policing bodies (which are defined within Schedule 1 to the Interpretation Act 1978 by reference to section 101 of the Police Act 1996 as meaning Police and Crime Commissioners, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime in relation to the Metropolitan Police district and the Common Council in relation to the City of London police area);
Integrated Care Boards (established in accordance with Chapter A3 of Part 2 of the National Health Service Act 2006); and
tier one local authorities (as defined in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and meaning the county council or the district council where there is no county council, and the Greater London Authority rather than individual London boroughs, and the Council of the Isles of Scilly).
	"Relevant victim support services" are defined in subsections (4), (5), (6) and (7) and are intended to describe some of the existing functions undertaken by the relevant authorities in relation to the commissioning and provision of victim support services. This duty will not include new requirements to commission services. Subsection (4) explains that relevant victim support services as services that are provided to support victims of domestic abuse, criminal conduct of a sexual nature or serious violence. Victim support services can include advice, recovery and support services, which could be medical, therapeutic, practical and/or emotional. This duty is intended to require the relevant authorities to target this collaborative effort towards victims of these categories of crime, which are particularly traumatic offences with a high number of victims each year.
	Criminal conduct of a sexual nature refers to conduct that amounts to a criminal offence, and where a person has suffered harm as a result of this conduct, as set out in Section 1.
	Subsection (5) defines domestic abuse and accommodation-based support for these purposes as having the same meaning as in sections 1 and 57 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 respectively.
	Subsections (6) and (7) clarify the meaning of violence and serious violence. Violence for these purposes includes violence against property and threats of violence; and the decision as to whether violence is serious should take into account the maximum penalty for the offence and victim impact. The decision as to whether criminal conduct constitutes serious violence should be made by the relevant authorities. Terrorism within the meaning of the Terrorism Act 2000 is not included, because victims of terrorism are supported by the Home Office CONTEST strategy and funding commitments.
	Subsection (8) is intended to ensure that the relevant authorities consider whether sharing or processing information may assist them in the effective discharge of functions under this section. This does not require information to be disclosed if the disclosure would contravene the data protection legislation, but it clarifies the lawful basis for disclosure under that legislation.
	The exercise of the duty will be organised by reference to police area because it is expected that as part of their role in commissioning wider victims’ services, PCCs may convene the collaborative activity in local areas and bring local partners together. The relevant authorities are those responsible for functions falling all or part within a police area. The relevant police area in each instance will be that attaching to the local policing body as defined in section 101(1) of the Police Act 1996, namely that listed in schedule 1 of the Police Act 1996), the Metropolitan Police district and the City of London police area. For integrated care boards and local authorities, these could fall fully or partly within the police area meaning at the local level that the same commissioning team may be required to liaise with one or more PCC as appropriate in relation to the effective discharge of this duty.
Part 1: Victims of Criminal Conduct Collaboration in exercise of victim support functions Section 13: Duty to collaborate in exercise of victim support functions