Crime: Victims

Mrs. Ellman
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance has been issued to staff in his Department and its public agencies with regard to the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power and Annex.

Maria Eagle
We have not issued guidance relating to this 1985 UN Declaration. However, the Government remain firmly committed to rebalancing the Criminal Justice System in favour of victims and witnesses, as is compliant with the spirit of the Declaration. We have introduced extensive reforms, including a Victims Surcharge to divert money from offenders to victims, given a significant increase in resources to Victim Support, established witness care units to provide tailored support during trial, and introduced a code of practice to give victims statutory rights for the first time. Furthermore our criminal injuries compensation scheme is the most generous within the European Union, paying out some £200 million a year to around 30,000 victims of violent crime.