Statement
The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 introduces duties mandating that police and other authorised persons may only request victim information such as medical records when it is necessary and proportionate, and in pursuit of a reasonable line of enquiry. These duties also create special protections for victims’ counselling records, reflecting the highly sensitive nature of these records.
I am confident these new duties, once in force, will help protect the privacy and dignity of victims within the criminal justice system and help the government deliver on our ambitious aim to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade.
However, before we can bring in these essential reforms it is first necessary to define counselling services and issue a Code of Practice to which authorised persons such as police must adhere.
That is why I am pleased to announce the Government is today publishing a public consultation on both a draft Code of Practice for Third Party Material Requests and a definition of counselling services.
The consultation will run for a 12-week period and provides a valuable opportunity for the public to have their say.
A copy of the consultation and draft Code of Practice will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on Gov.uk.