Victims and Courts Bill: key wins for victims at Lords Report Stage
Peers returned to the Victims and Courts Bill this week for Report Stage, where several amendments backed by the Victims’ Commissioner were debated - and, crucially, some significant changes were agreed.
Claire Waxman welcomed a series of important developments that, if accepted by the House of Commons, will strengthen victims’ rights and close longstanding gaps in protection.
Free access to court transcripts: a major step forward to open justice
Peers backed the Commissioner’s amendment to guarantee victims free access to copies of the judge’s Route to Verdict and bail decisions – a longstanding priority in the push for a more open and transparent justice system.
This change will ensure victims can receive vital information about how decisions affecting their case were reached, addressing repeated concerns that victims are often left in the dark about bail conditions.
Amendment 5 requires that transcripts be provided within 14 days of a request and clarifies that this right applies whether or not the victim gave evidence in the case.
Families bereaved by murder abroad to be formally recognised
Peers voted in favour of the Commissioner’s amendment to ensure that families bereaved by murder or manslaughter abroad are brought within the remit of the Victims’ Code — addressing a longstanding gap where these families have not been formally recognised as victims because the crime occurred outside the UK.
These families face significant barriers: they are often left without access to information, translation services, or specialist support that would be guaranteed if the homicide had occurred in the UK. The amendment proposes a tailored appendix to the Code setting out clearly which services they are entitled to, providing long‑overdue clarity and consistency.
While ministers acknowledged the challenges these families face, the government argued against placing them in the Code, expressing concern that doing so would “raise expectations” that could not be met. Instead, they suggested using the ongoing Victims’ Code consultation to improve signposting to guidance and support.
Amendment 10 on including victims of murder abroad in the Victims’ Code was tabled by Baroness Brinton.
Improving the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme: government backs the Commissioner’s approach
Peers voted to support the amendment seeking to introduce an “exceptional circumstances” safeguard to the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme — a long‑standing ask of the Victims’ Commissioner, aimed at giving victims the same flexibility already afforded to offenders when appealing their own sentence.
Throughout the debate, Ministers acknowledged that the central problem victims face is not the 28‑day time limit itself, but the chronic failure of agencies to inform them that the scheme exists. Too often, victims never learn they have a right to challenge an unduly lenient sentence, leaving them unable to act within the deadline.
However, despite recognising these issues, the government stopped short of supporting the amendment. Ministers raised concerns about how “exceptional circumstances” would operate in practice, arguing that the term cannot be tightly defined in legislation. They cautioned that if victims are not notified in the first place — the very issue the amendment seeks to address — their cases may not meet the threshold of being “exceptional,” limiting the amendment’s impact.
Despite these reservations, peers proceeded to a vote and the amendment was agreed. Ministers have asked to continue working with the Victims’ Commissioner to address what they see as the underlying issue: ensuring that victims are reliably informed about the ULS scheme in the first place, with commitments to work with the Attorney General, Crown Prosecution Service, Home Office and policing bodies to improve awareness.
Amendments 26 and 27 on improving the accessibility of the ULS scheme were tabled by Baroness Brinton.
The Bill now moves into Parliamentary ‘ping pong’, where the House of Commons and House of Lords will consider and respond to each other’s amendments before the legislation can receive Royal Assent. Amendments agreed in the Lords are not yet guaranteed to become law, and may still be overturned or revised by the Commons. The Commissioner continues to engage with Ministers on these matters.