Victims’ Commissioner set to gain strengthened oversight role under proposed reforms

The Victims and Courts Bill, introduced to Parliament this week, sets out a package of reforms to strengthen the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales – changes that Baroness Newlove has described as “important”, “welcome”, and “needed to deliver on the role’s promise”.

Under the proposals, the Commissioner’s powers would be expanded to provide greater independent scrutiny of how victims are treated, ensuring that both government and agencies are held to account.

The measures build on the statutory powers established through the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 and aim to enhance the Commissioner’s ability to drive improvements and ensure victims’ rights are upheld in practice.

The proposed reforms reflect sustained behind-the-scenes advocacy by the Commissioner and her team. Over the past year, the Commissioner has worked closely with ministers and officials to shape the development of these powers, ensuring they respond to real issues raised by victims and frontline services.

Since her reappointment in 2023, Baroness Newlove has consistently called for stronger oversight and enforcement mechanisms to ensure victims’ rights are delivered, not just promised. While the role has always had a statutory basis, it lacked the powers needed to hold agencies to account. The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 marked a turning point, giving the Commissioner powers to request information, issue recommendations, and require responses from public bodies.

Building on that foundation, the Victims and Courts Bill proposes three further measures to strengthen the role:

A new duty to monitor and report on compliance with the Victims’ Code
The Victims’ Code sets out the rights that every victim of crime is entitled to – including respectful treatment, clear information, and access to support. Yet too often, agencies fall short in upholding these rights, and there is currently no consistent way of knowing whether victims are receiving the support they are entitled to.

The Commissioner is already required by law to monitor how the Victims’ Code is working and to recommend improvements to its implementation. The Victims and Courts Bill would strengthen this duty by requiring the Commissioner to produce an annual report on Code compliance, with the government required to respond. The aim is to increase transparency, highlight where standards are falling short, and drive improvements in how victims are treated.

This builds on the Commissioner’s advocacy during the passage of the Victims and Prisoners Bill, where she called for a clear statutory duty to compile and publish an annual assessment of Code compliance.

A new duty for local agencies to co-operate with the Commissioner on anti-social behaviour
The Bill introduces a legal duty on local authorities and relevant social housing providers to co-operate with the Commissioner in matters relating to anti-social behaviour. Baroness Newlove has long called for stronger protections and more coordinated responses for victims of persistent ASB, highlighting the serious and lasting harm it causes. Her 2024 report laid bare the daily challenges faced by victims and the lack of meaningful progress in improving outcomes.

The government first signalled its intention to introduce this change in its response to the Commissioner’s 2023 Victim Survey, where it stated: “We are also considering how an enhanced role of the Victims’ Commissioner could offer more oversight and scrutinise how agencies respond to victims of persistent ASB. I am grateful to your office for working with officials on what form those powers might take.”

A power to act in individual cases that raise wider public policy concerns
Finally, the Bill would give the Commissioner the ability to act in individual cases where they highlight systemic or policy-level issues. While this would not enable the Commissioner to intervene in operational decision-making, it would allow her to use individual cases to spotlight failures in policy or practice and press for wider reform. The intention is to ensure that serious failures do not go unchallenged, and that lessons are learned to benefit victims more broadly.

Commenting on the introduction of the Bill, the Victims’ Commissioner said:

“These important and welcome reforms give the Victims’ Commissioner the statutory powers needed to deliver on the role’s promise: championing victims’ rights, scrutinising compliance with the Victims’ Code, holding agencies to account, and spotlighting the true victim experience to drive meaningful change. This marks a step towards a more accountable system that puts victims first.

Crucially, it introduces much-needed oversight and accountability to how agencies respond to anti-social behaviour – an area where victims have too often felt unheard and unsupported.”

ENDS