Written questions by Champion.

What steps she is taking to help raise awareness of her Department's pilot scheme to provide victims of rape and serious sexual offences with the opportunity to request a free copy of Judges’ sentencing remarks in Crown Court cases.

Sentencing is an important part of the criminal justice system for victims. However, we know the experience of attending court in person, including sentencing hearings, can be distressing. In May 2024, the Ministry of Justice launched a one-year pilot for victims of rape and sexual offences, whose cases were heard at the Crown Court, to request a copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks free of charge.We are actively working to promote the pilot to eligible victims. We have, for example, published a dedicated webpage on Gov.uk, shared information on the scheme with over 70 national and local stakeholders who work with or represent victims, and created social media posts on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and LinkedIn. We are also working with the Witness Service to ensure that they can provide information on the pilot to victims at court.

With reference to the oral contribution of the then Minister of State in her Department during the Ninth sitting of the Public Bill Committee on the Victims and Prisoners Bill on 4 July 2023, Official Report column 310, and to correspondence on the timetable for implementation of the duty on public authorities to collaborate under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, published on 5 November 2024, whether (a) the guidance to be developed under this implementation process will clarify that modern slavery victims (i) can and (ii) are likely to be covered by the duty and (b) stakeholders involved in supporting victims of modern slavery will be included in the consultation process.

The duty to collaborate, as set out in sections 13-14 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, will, once in force, require local policing bodies, local authorities and integrated care boards to collaborate when commissioning services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse and serious violence in England.Collaboration in relation to the commissioning of services for victims of modern slavery will be required under the duty where the crime amounts to serious violence, including the threat of violence and violence against property (see section 13(7) of the 2024 Act).The statutory guidance on the duty issued pursuant to section 15 will make this clear and will be consulted on in early 2025, in accordance with section 15(2). The Ministry of Justice has engaged with stakeholders involved in supporting victims of modern slavery during the development of the draft guidance and will continue to do so during consultation.