Victim Notification Scheme - Independent Review: SG response

Executive Summary

The Independent Review of the Victim Notification Scheme (the review) published its report in May 2023. Scottish Ministers have agreed with or agreed in principle with the majority of the recommendations.

The review was commissioned to ensure that the victim notification scheme (VNS) is fit for purpose and is serving victims effectively. The review formed part of the commitment to transform how justice services are delivered, which includes putting the voices of victims and a trauma-informed approach at the heart of Scottish justice.

Scottish Government response

The 22 recommendations cover a wide range of issues: from major shifts in operational delivery of the VNS, to smaller-scale process changes. We have grouped the recommendations into five themes:

• process and system improvements;
• data, evidence and reporting;
• eligibility for registration to the scheme;
• enhanced information;
• and communications.

Some recommendations have many parts. In some cases, different parts of a single recommendation can be categorised in different themes. We have responded to all of the recommendation sub-parts as follows:

• Agree (18)
• Agree in principle (14)
• To note (3)

We will implement the recommendations in partnership with justice agencies and victim support organisations. Where a recommendation is not for the Scottish Government, we will take a joined-up approach with relevant partners.

Reform of the VNS does not sit in isolation. While the operation of the VNS may represent a victim’s final interaction with organisations in the criminal justice system, this interaction is part of the much longer journey a victim will have taken through that system.

The review sets out certain criminal justice initiatives which it considered were important to the VNS. We have considered all of these initiatives, as well as other strategies and programmes of work including our 2022 Vision for Justice. Recent experiences with measures to manage the prison population and victim notification have also informed our response to the review.

Next steps

We have already started our considerations of how to implement the recommendations. We will prioritise those that require changes to primary legislation.

The key innovation from the review was the establishment of a victim contact team, which will provide personalised support for victims. This will be our priority.

We intend to use the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which is currently at Stage 2, to deliver recommendations that need primary legislation. This Bill presents the ideal opportunity to deliver the benefits of VNS reform quickly, which we all will want to see.

We intend to take forward recommendations that need changes to secondary legislation in a way that dovetails with recommendations that will be delivered by this Bill.

Many of the review recommendations do not need legislation, so we will work with victim support organisations and justice partners to take these forward in tandem to the recommendations that need legislative change.

We will engage closely with stakeholders throughout, and continue to listen to the voices of victims. We will take a joined-up approach to efficient delivery, which considers the impact of changes holistically. This will include considering financial and resource implications with partners.

We will produce an annual report to review progress of these key reforms.