Courts: Victims' Experience

Sarah Coombes, the Labour MP for West Bromwich, asked the Government what steps it is taking to improve the experience of victims at court. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Davies-Jones, responded that the Government is committed to improving the victim experience at court. She stated that the Government will work with the judiciary to fast-track rape cases to ensure timely justice for the most vulnerable within the criminal justice system. Additionally, the Government has committed to introducing free, independent legal support for victims of rape from report to trial, as well as strengthening the Victims' Code and increasing the Victims' Commissioner's powers to ensure victims' needs are met. In a follow-up question, Ms. Coombes highlighted that giving evidence in court can be a very difficult and distressing experience for victims, which is why they sometimes prefer to give evidence via video link. She asked the Minister what steps the Government is taking to ensure that more victims can give evidence via video link across the country. Ms. Davies-Jones responded that video links are available in all courts to help vulnerable and intimidated witnesses give evidence, and that the Government has recently invested £50,000 to transform witness facilities and upgrade video link rooms in 10 Crown courts. She also noted that pre-recorded evidence is available in all Crown courts for eligible victims to spare them the trauma of giving evidence at a live trial. Jess Brown-Fuller, the Liberal Democrat MP for Chichester, then intervened, stating that to ensure victims see justice, criminal cases need to be heard in a timely manner, which relies on a number of courts being in place. She highlighted the uncertain future of Chichester Crown Court, the only Crown Court in West Sussex, and asked the Minister to meet with her to ensure the future of this court. Ms. Davies-Jones acknowledged the importance of courtroom availability in dealing with the backlog and stated that she would pass on the message to the courts Minister.