Victims and Courts Bill

Key Points

• - Lords amendments sought major expansions of victims’ rights: free access to court transcripts within 14 days, regardless of evidence given; independent victim navigators for England and Wales (especially for victims of slavery or human trafficking); and a strengthened Victim Contact Scheme with funding duties for authorities.
• - Other Lords proposals included extending protections and information-sharing under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, publishing sentencing remarks online with anonymity protections, and measures to support victims of fraud, economic crime and online abuse, plus new victim-facing duties on services and restoration of rights.
• - The Commons consistently voted to disagree with Lords amendments, citing cost, practicality and potential overlap with existing protections; several amendments were defeated at Report Stage or in the Lords’ later amendments, and only a limited number of technical corrections were agreed.
• - There were significant technical amendments (notably to Clause 9) to keep the text aligned with the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, and some changes were withdrawn or amended through Committee and Third Reading stages.
• - A policy debate thread ran through proposals on age-related safeguards (restricting automatic parental responsibility for children born after serious sexual offences against a child), bail restrictions, and extending unduly lenient sentencing processes, which the Commons did not accept in the form proposed by the Lords.
• - Devolved matters were acknowledged with a Welsh Parliament (Senedd) Legislative Consent Motion noting, but not changing, the bill’s scope; the consent covered devolved aspects for consideration by Parliament.
• progressSummaryProcessus_desc":"The bill began in the Commons and moved to the Lords, where the Lords pushed a broad package of victims-rights enhancements. The Commons then voted to disagree with those amendments, and the bill is back in the Lords to consider the Commons amendments and reasons. This back-and-forth continues as MPs and Lords seek a final, agreed version.",
• votingSummaryDescription":"In March 2026 the Commons voted to disagree with Lords amendments across the major victims-rights provisions, reflecting concern about cost, practicality, and the impact on courts and judges. Earlier report-stage amendments were largely defeated. The balance of party positions shows mixed support for Lords’ broader rights measures, with the Government leading the opposition to those changes.",
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Progress

Current stage: Lords are considering Commons amendments and/or reasons after the Commons disagreed with Lords amendments earlier in 2026. The process continues toward a final agreement before passage to the statute book.

Voting

The Commons voted to disagree with most Lords’ amendments proposed in March 2026, signaling a preference for keeping costs and court administration manageable. Earlier votes on report-stage amendments were largely against the Lords’ broad rights expansions. Cross-party support for the Lords’ new rights was limited in the Commons, while some technical corrections were accepted.