Month: September 2018

Support for victims of crime will be overhauled following the launch of the first ever cross-government Victims Strategy.

The Justice Secretary today set out how the government will ensure that support for victims – including those of violent offences such as terrorism and child sexual abuse – is aligned to the changing nature of crime, and boost services at every stage of the justice system.

The strategy makes clear the specific support victims can expect – beginning immediately after a crime, and ending long after any court proceedings. The government currently spends roughly £200 million per year on support services for victims of crime.

Today’s launch also serves as the next step in the delivery of Manifesto commitments to establish an Independent Public Advocate for victims of public disasters and enshrine victims’ entitlements in law.

Commenting on the importance of this work to the government, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

Nothing can take away the distress and trauma of being a victim of crime, but ensuring people get the support they need as they rebuild their lives is vital.

How we support victims is fundamental to a caring society, and in recognition of that we are taking steps to enshrine their rights in law for the very first time.

The duty of a government is to keep people safe, but it is not enough to simply bring offenders to court. Victims need to know they are protected and listened to, and we will continue to work with charities and support groups to improve their experience.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said:

Many of us will be lucky enough to not have to encounter the justice system as a victim of crime – but those who do must not also become a victim of the process.

We will enshrine victims’ entitlements in law by beginning a consultation early next year, and otherwise seek to boost the Victims’ Code.

This strategy addresses the changing nature of crime, and sets out the support victims should receive at every stage of their journey through the justice system – from providing statements to police, appearing in court or in front of the Parole Board, and every step in between.

Key aspects of the strategy

The strategy sets out how the government will:

• Consult on a revised Victims’ Code to ensure entitlements better reflect the needs of victims and the changing nature of crime. For example, we will reduce the points of contact for victims through reviewing the roles and responsibilities of agencies that support victims, and review support for victims of mentally disordered offenders.
• Consult on a Victims’ Law to underpin the code, which will include strengthening the Victims’ Commissioner’s powers. We will launch a consultation in early 2019, with the aim of an amended code being in place in 2019.
• Consult on the establishment of an Independent Public Advocate (IPA) to help bereaved families following a disaster. They will help guide families throughout an investigative process, ensuring their voices are heard at inquests, and that they are directed to appropriate support services.
• Review the entire Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS) so it reflects the changing nature of crime – particularly around applications relating to child sexual abuse and terrorism. We will consider reform of the eligibility criteria, and will abolish the unfair and arbitrary pre-1979 ‘same roof rule.’ We will launch a consultation by early 2019 on a review of the scheme.
• Improve communication and support for victims during the parole process. We will simplify the Victim Contact Scheme and improve the quality of communication; allow Victim Personal Statements at parole hearings; and roll out revised training for Victim Liaison Officers.

Significant progress has been made to address the causes of crime, including the work announced in the Serious Violence Strategy, and the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act.

But ministers are clear that more must be done for victims. For example, fewer than 20% of victims were aware of the Victims’ Code, which sets out the minimum entitlements and services they should receive by law. Only 15% said they were given the opportunity by the police to make a Victim Personal Statement.

Baroness Newlove, Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales said:

This is a timely focus on the needs and rights of victims, and is a major step forward towards ensuring they receive the care, support and justice they deserve.

Victims consistently tell me that they feel their status in the criminal justice system is not comparable with that of the offender. As Victims’ Commissioner I have long been calling for a Victims Law to ensure that the rights of victims are central to the delivery of our justice system.

I welcome this Victims’ Strategy which brings us a step closer to seeing a Victims Law on the statute books. Such a law will mean that no victim in the future will have to fight for the support they’re entitled to.

I will continue to push government to ensure that victims whose lives may be devastatingly transformed by the crime committed against them, are afforded the rights they so justly deserve.

Diana Fawcett, Chief Officer of the independent charity Victim Support, said:

As the national charity for victims we welcome the steps set out today to bring forward a Victims’ Law and to strengthen the Victims’ Code. We are also pleased that the government has announced a much-needed review of criminal injuries compensation for victims.

We have worked closely with the government as they’ve developed their strategy and we look forward to continuing this, to ensure that the reforms truly work for victims.

The strategy sets out new policy, and brings together existing funding commitments made by various government departments.

The strategy also outlines plans to improve support for victims of major tragedies to ensure that the painful experience of the Hillsborough families is not replicated.

Further measures in the strategy include:

• Commitments to increase spending from £31 million in 2018 to £39 million in 2020/21 to improve services for victims of sexual violence and abuse who seek support from Sexual Assault Referral Centres.
• Greater support for families bereaved by homicide, including new funding for advocacy support for families bereaved by domestic homicide.
• Boosting the number of Registered Intermediaries – communication experts helping vulnerable victims and witnesses give their best evidence at police interview and trial – by 25%.
• Improving court environments, with new victim-friendly waiting areas and an emphasis on accessibility for the most vulnerable.
• Keeping the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme under review, and considering an extension so victims and the public can have sentences reconsidered by the Court of Appeal.
• Focus on better enforcement of the Victims’ Code, with increased responsibility for Police and Crime Commissioners in monitoring the delivery of services.
• The creation of a short, user-friendly overview of the Victims’ Code in hardcopy and electronic formats.
• Developing a new delivery model for victim support services, and coordinating funding across government.

Notes to editors

• This strategy marks the latest milestone in improving the support for victims and builds on important progress over the last few years:
  • In 2006, The Code of Practice for Victims (the Victims’ Code) established for the first time in law services that must be provided to victims of crime in England and Wales by criminal justice agencies.
  • In 2010, the first Victims’ Commissioner was appointed. The statutory position was set up to champion the interests of victims and witnesses and encourage good practice in their treatment.
  • ‘Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses’ was published in 2012 and set out the government’s approach for making sure victims and witnesses get the support they need.
  • The creation of the Victims’ Panel to represent the voice of victims in government policy making.
  • Wider provision of special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses many of whom are victims.
  • Seeking new laws and stronger powers to protect and support survivors of domestic abuse.
  • Creating new offences to protect more victims and bring offenders to justice including: revenge porn, coercive or controlling behaviour, and sexual communication with a child.
• The latest Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) estimates suggest one in five adults experienced crime in the year ending March 2018.
• Despite crime having fallen since the mid-1990s, the types of offences being committed are changing. Fraud and cyber offences now make nearly half of all crime in England and Wales. Additionally, more victims are coming forward to report crimes that have traditionally been under-reported. For instance, reported sex crimes have risen by nearly a quarter in a year, with demand for male rape support services rising 176% in the last three years.
• There has been a sharp rise in serious violence, with police recorded knife crime up by 16% in England and Wales in 2017/18 and the number of homicides rose by 12% in the same period. In London, acid attacks have more than doubled since 2014. The government’s Serious Violence Strategy, published in April, puts a stronger focus on steering young people away from violence, whilst continuing to ensure the strongest possible response from law enforcement agencies.
• In April the Justice Secretary published findings of a review of parole processes, and measures to increase its transparency and improve the treatment of victims. One immediate step has been to change the rules to allow the Parole Board to explain its decisions to victims, media and the public. Since this change, the Parole Board has received over 850 requests for summary decisions.
• The government’s intention to establish an Independent Public Advocate (IPA) “for victims of public disasters” was outlined in the 2017 Conservative Party Manifesto and confirmed in the Queen’s Speech. The consultation, launched today, seeks views on the remit and powers of the IPA and closes on 3 December.
• Stakeholder engagement on the review of Victims’ Code, strengthening the Victims’ Commissioner’s powers and the Victims’ Law will commence in the coming weeks, with a view to a formal public consultation in early 2019, and an amended Code being in place in 2019.
• The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme awards taxpayer-funded payments to victims injured as a result violent crime, paying out more than £150 million to victims in 2017/18. Full details of the review of the scheme will be announced in due course, with a public consultation to be launched in early 2019.

• 5,500 places to be created for young people to join uniformed youth groups
• Funding will support expansion and development of new groups

A new £5 million fund will increase places in uniformed youth groups to reach vulnerable young people and allow for expansion in deprived areas, Minister for Civil Society Tracey Crouch announced.

An estimated 5,500 spaces will be created in groups such as police cadets, Scouts, Guides and faith-based organisations to help reduce waiting lists for these in-demand local clubs.

The fund will help organisations open new groups in deprived areas across England and allow more children to benefit from weekly activities, camps or volunteering programmes – helping to boost their wellbeing, mental health and life skills.

In addition, the Uniformed Youth Fund, will provide more opportunities for adults to get involved in projects and volunteer their time in order to grow and sustain groups in their community.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

Organisations like the Guides and Sea Cadets play a key role in so many childhoods. They create lasting friendships and teach important life skills such as teamwork and resilience.

This fund strengthens our support for young people by ensuring that even more children have access to these groups and are helped to reach their full potential.

Samantha Hyde, Director at Youth United Foundation, said:

We are delighted to be able to expand our important work with children and young people living in the some of the most deprived regions in the country, providing them with the opportunity to join a uniformed youth group and, as a result, gain a range of life-changing skills and experiences.

We strive to increase opportunities in areas and communities where there are least provisions and the most need, to ensure that young people of all backgrounds are able to succeed.

The Fund will be distributed and managed by Youth United Foundation, a member organisations for uniformed youth groups.

The Fund will also lay the foundations for groups to continue to expand and tackle waiting lists beyond the current financial year.

The announcement follows the recent Civil Society Strategy where the government promised to work alongside uniformed youth groups to consider how they can expand in disadvantaged areas.

ENDS

For more information please call the DCMS press office: 0207 2112210

Notes to editors:

Youth United Foundation Network collectively work with 1.5 million young people and is formed of 11 uniformed youth organisations, including: Army Cadets Force, Boys’ Brigade, Fire Cadets, Girls’ Brigade, Girlguiding, Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade, Royal Air Force Cadets, St. John Ambulance, Sea Cadets, The Scout Association and Volunteer Police Cadets.

Youth United Fund’s mission is to give every young person, regardless of economic or ethnic background, the opportunity to join a uniformed youth group.

A YouGov poll has found that one in five of UK adults are drinking above the Chief Medical Officer’s low risk drinking guidelines and more than two thirds of these say they would find cutting down on their drinking harder to do than one or more other lifestyle changes – improving their diet, exercising more, or reducing their smoking, if they were smokers.

Working together for the first time, Public Health England and alcohol education charity Drinkaware are today (10 September 2018) jointly launching a new campaign ‘Drink Free Days’ to help people cut down on the amount of alcohol they are regularly drinking.

The campaign will be encouraging middle-aged drinkers to use the tactic of taking more days off from drinking as a way of reducing their health risks from alcohol.

The more alcohol people drink , the greater their risk of developing a number of serious potentially life limiting health conditions, such as high blood pressure and heart disease, as well as 7 types of cancer.

Regular drinking also increases the amount of calories consumed and can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
Evidence from behavioural science suggests that simple and easy ways of helping people to change their behaviour are the most effective, which is why Drinkaware and PHE have chosen to focus on Drink Free Days.

Pre-campaign research also found that the concept resonated strongly with people and was seen as clear to follow, positive and achievable.

Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive at Public Health England, said:

Many of us enjoy a drink – but whether it’s a few in the pub after work a couple of times a week, some beers on the sofa watching the football or regular wine with our dinner – it’s all too easy to let our drinking creep up on us.

While the link with liver disease is well known, many people are not aware that alcohol can cause numerous other serious health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease as well as several cancers. It’s also an easy way to pile on the pounds.

About 10 million people in England are drinking in ways that increases the risks and many are struggling to cut down. Setting yourself a target of having more drink free days every week is an easy way to drink less and reduce the risks to your health.

Commenting, Drinkaware Chief Executive Elaine Hindal said:

The more you drink, the greater the risk to your health. It’s really that simple.

But an increasing number of people, particularly middle aged drinkers, are drinking in ways that are putting them at risk of serious and potentially life limiting conditions such as heart disease, liver disease and some types of cancer.

That’s where this campaign comes in and we’re delighted to be joining forces with Public Health England for the first time to help give people that knowledge.

Having a few drink free days each week, will help reduce the risks to your health and improve your wellbeing.

This new partnership between Public Health England and Drinkaware is a fresh and bold step in our work to reduce alcohol harm. PHE’s One You digital platform has a strong track record on encouraging behaviour change; Drinkaware is an independent educational charity with an extensive reach to the key audiences. Working together to help communicate the message that having drink free days will reduce the risks to your health is the first move in what we hope will be a long term partnership.

Former England and Liverpool footballer John Barnes is supporting the campaign which will be providing people with a range of tools and resources to help them cut back and make better choices about their drinking.

John said:

This is an important campaign highlighting how many of us don’t realise that we are drinking in ways that could be harming our health and how we are struggling to moderate.

A beer here and a glass of wine there might not seem like much but the units can add up and so too can the health risks.

Having a few more days a week that are drink free is a great way of taking control of our drinking and making healthier choices for the future which is why I am supporting this fantastic campaign.

A dedicated website provides all the information, resources and apps to help support people, including the One You Drink Free Days app and Drinkaware’s Drink Compare Calculator.

Background

YouGov Survey

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov. YouGov interviewed 8,906 UK adults aged 18 to 85 online between 14 May and 5 June 2018. This included a subset of 1,847 adults who drank over 14 units in the last week. Data has been weighted to be representative of the UK adult population according to gender, age, social grade and region.

Proportion of adults drinking above the lower risk guidelines

Research shows that middle-aged drinkers are more likely to be drinking more (above the 14 units lower risk guidelines) than the general population: Adult Survey for England 2016 – Adult Health Trends (table 10).

Campaign evaluation

PHE and Drinkaware will separately undertake full independent evaluations and peer review processes.

The public health burden of alcohol

Evidence review: this PHE review looks at the impact of alcohol on the public health and the effectiveness of alcohol control policies.

Alcohol consumption: advice on low risk drinking

UK Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines on how to keep health risks from drinking alcohol to a low level.

Drink Free Days app

The Drink Free Days app is a simple and easy way to track the days you drink alcohol and the days you don’t.

One You

Launched in March 2016, One You from Public Health England is the first nationwide programme to support adults in making simple changes that can have a huge influence on their health, could help prevent diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease and reduce risk of suffering a stroke or living with dementia, disability and frailty in later life. It aims to inform, energise and engage millions of adults, especially those in the 40 to 60 ‘middle-aged’ group, to make changes to improve their own health by eating well, moving more, drinking less and quitting smoking. One You also provides information on free health checks and how people can reduce their stress levels and sleep better.

About Drinkaware

Drinkaware is an independent charity which aims to reduce alcohol-related harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking. We achieve this by providing impartial, evidence based information, advice and practical resources; raising awareness of alcohol and its harms, and working collaboratively with partners..Follow them on Twitter @drinkaware.

About PHE

Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. We do this through world-leading science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and providing specialist public health services. We are an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and a distinct organisation with operational autonomy. We provide government, local government, the NHS, Parliament, industry and the public with evidence-based professional, scientific expertise and support. Follow us on Twitter: @PHE_uk and Facebook: www.facebook.com/PublicHealthEngland.

The time has come to maximise the many strengths of a natural economic region that has been frustrated by tolling for over 50 years, Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns will say today when he delivers a speech on his vision for the “Western Powerhouse” concept at the Policy Forum Wales seminar in Newport.

Speaking to an audience of leaders from local government, education, private and academic sectors from both sides of the Severn Estuary, the Welsh Secretary will lay down the gauntlet and challenge the experts to come forward with their ideas on how to bolster existing relationships and develop new partnerships across the nations.

At the end of 2018, one of the greatest economic barriers to Wales’ prosperity will be consigned to history when the UK Government removes the tolls to use the Severn Crossings.

Companies on both sides of the border are already benefitting from the removal of VAT on the tolls in January.

When the tolls are abolished completely, the UK Government wants to see businesses pool their expertise to deliver the ideas and projects that will not only benefit the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, Newport, Bristol and Bath but the wider South Wales and South West England regions as well.

Opening the Policy Forum for Wales seminar, Alun Cairns will say:

The cities on the western side of the UK are individually strong, but collectively, we are not strong enough.

We need to light the blue touch paper and make a real step change to the way businesses, people and industry from the cities and towns from both sides of the Severn work together when the tolls are removed.

And I’m not talking about one city taking the lead, but a collection of cities, of communities, of businesses, sufficiently close to each other that, combined, they can take on the world.

Able to provide jobs and opportunities to the many people who live in or are looking to invest in this region.

So we need to seize the opportunity to create an ecomomic region on the Western side of the UK that can compete with the Northern Powerhouse, the Midlands Engine and with the economy of the South East.

He will also lay down the challenge to business leaders to come forward with ideas on how the ‘Western Powerhouse’ can become a reality.

He will say;

This is not a marketing campaign or a one-off event. It’s got to be a serious, long-term strategy to make this part of the UK greater than the sum of its parts.

For far too long, the physical barrier of the Severn tolls have prevented businesses and people in Wales and the South West from working together in a way that they could have been.

Whilst differences to our own cross-border region exist, it is clear that we can learn lessons and benefit from each others’ experience.

This has got to be driven by you, the experts. It’s got to be about your attitude and about your ideas.