1. Purpose (Back to top)
The Sector Advisory Board (“the Board”) is established to provide expert advice, insight and support to the Victims Commissioner in support of her statutory role.
The Board will draw on the collective expertise of national victim support organisations to inform the Victims’ Commissioner’s priorities, policy positions, and engagement with government, criminal justice agencies and other stakeholders.
2. Role and Functions (Back to top)
The Board’s role is advisory. It will support the Victims’ Commissioner by:
- Providing advice on issues affecting victims of crime, including:
- Access to justice
- Availability, quality and sustainability of victim support services
- Barriers to support faced by different victim groups
- Emerging and systemic issues impacting victims
- Sharing sector insight, evidence and intelligence from frontline service delivery.
- Advising on the impact of policy, legislative and operational changes on victims and victim services.
- Informing the Victims’ Commissioner’s research, reports, recommendations and public messaging.
- Acting as a forum for constructive discussion and horizon scanning across the victim support sector.
The outputs from the Victims Sector Board will feed into and inform discussions at the Victims Commissioners Victims Board (*) and into the National Criminal Justice Board, ministerial meetings and wider partnership boards.
The Board does not have decision-making authority and does not replace bilateral engagement between the Victims’ Commissioner and individual organisations.
Victims Board (*):
The Victims Commissioner will chair a separate Victims Advisory Board. This Board will act as a forum for key criminal justice stakeholders to consider system‑wide issues affecting victims of crime in England and Wales and provide advice and support to the
Victims Commissioner in her role. Members of the Victim Sector Advisory Board will be invited to attend the Victims Board on a rotating basis.
In addition, the Victims Commissioner will establish and Chair a Victim and Survivor Lived Experience Board.
3. Membership (Back to top)
3.1 Composition
Membership will comprise senior representatives from national victim support organisations, including but not limited to:
- Rape Crisis England & Wales
- Refuge
- Womens Aid
- Welsh Womens Aid
- NSPCC
- Victim Support
- Barnardos
- Catch22
- LAWRS
- Tell MAMA
- Karma Nirvana
- Halo Project
- NAPAC
- We are Survivors
- Survivors Trust
- CST
- Imkaan
- Suzy Lamplugh Trust
- SAMM
- 100 Families
- Murdered Abroad
Attendance is requested from a senior manager from each organisation. They should be able to share strategic policy and practice issues from the perspective of their organisation and sector-wide.
Additional organisations may be invited to join the Board where their expertise aligns with the Board’s purpose.
3.2 Chair
The Victims Commissioner will chair the first meeting. The Board will then be chaired by the Chief Executive of the Office of the Victims’ Commissioner.
3.3 Term of Membership
Members will be invited by the Office for the Victims’ Commissioner. Membership will be kept under review to ensure appropriate coverage of victim experiences and services.
4. Meetings (Back to top)
- The Board will meet quarterly.
- Meetings may be held in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format.
- Additional meetings may be convened by the Chair where necessary.
5. Secretariat (Back to top)
Secretariat support will be provided by the Office of the Victims’ Commissioner.
This will include:
- Preparing agendas and papers in consultation with the Chair
- Circulating papers in advance of meetings
- Taking and distributing meeting notes and actions
- Coordinating follow-up actions as required
6. Conduct and Confidentiality (Back to top)
- Members are expected to engage in an open, respectful and constructive manner.
- Discussions may include sensitive information. Members must respect confidentiality and comply with any information-handling requirements set out by the Chair or secretariat.
- Board discussions are advisory and not attributable to individual members or organisations unless explicitly agreed.
7. Conflicts of Interest (Back to top)
Members must declare any actual or perceived conflicts of interest relevant to agenda items. The Chair will determine how any conflicts should be managed.
8. Review of Terms of Reference (Back to top)
These Terms of Reference will be reviewed annually, or sooner if required, to ensure they remain fit for purpose.