Victims and Prisoners Bill: Progress of the Bill

The Victims and Prisoners Bill was as introduced to the House of Commons on 28 March 2023. The Bill is split into three main parts:

• Victims of crime: Part 1 of the Bill includes several proposals aimed at strengthening the rights of victims of crime and improving the way they are treated and the services they recieve.
• Victims of major incidents: Part 2 of the Bill is aimed at ensuring support for victims and bereaved in the aftermath of major incidents by introducing a framework for the Justice Secretary to appoint independent public advocates following an incident to assist them.
• Prisoners and parole: Part 3 of the Bill includes several proposals for reforming the parole system and Parole Board proceedings with the aim of ensuring that public protection is kept as the primary focus for decisions to release people.

The Bill was given second reading on 15 May 2023 and considered by a Public Bill Committee over 14 sittings between 20 June 2023 and 11 July 2023. The Committee took evidence from expert witnesses for the first four sittings and external stakeholders submitted written evidence. The Bill was carried over to the 2023-24 session and was discussed in the background briefing notes produced by the Government for the 2023 King’s Speech. The dates for the remaining stages have not yet been announced.

This briefing has been prepared ahead of Commons report stage and summarises what happened during second reading and committee stage. The Bill, together with its Explanatory Notes and an overview of its parliamentary progress, is available on the Parliamentary website. The Government’s impact assessments for the proposals and factsheets are available on GOV.UK.