Legislation – Victims and Prisoners Act 2024

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Part 1Victims of criminal conduct

Disclosures by victims that cannot be precluded by agreement

17Disclosures by victims that cannot be precluded by agreement

(1)

A provision in an agreement is void in so far as it purports to preclude the making of a disclosure falling within subsection (2).

(2)

A disclosure falls within this subsection if it is a disclosure of information that is made by a victim or a person who reasonably believes they are a victim—

(a)

to any person who has law enforcement functions, for the purpose of those functions being exercised in relation to relevant conduct;

(b)

to a qualified lawyer, for the purpose of seeking legal advice about relevant conduct;

(c)

to any individual who is entitled to practise a regulated profession, for the purpose of obtaining professional support in relation to relevant conduct;

(d)

to any individual who provides a service to support victims, for the purpose of obtaining support from that service in relation to relevant conduct;

(e)

to a regulator of a regulated profession for the purpose of co-operating with the regulator in relation to relevant conduct;

F1(ea)

to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, for the purpose of a claim for compensation in relation to relevant conduct under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme or the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme;

(eb)

to a court or tribunal, for the purpose of issuing or pursuing any proceedings in relation to a decision of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority made in connection with a claim mentioned in paragraph (ea);

(f)

to a person who is authorised to receive information on behalf of a person mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d) F2, (e) or (ea), or on behalf of a court or tribunal mentioned in paragraph (eb), for the purpose mentioned in the paragraph in question;

(g)

to a child, parent or partner of the person making the disclosure, for the purpose of obtaining support in relation to relevant conduct.

(3)

But a provision in an agreement is not void by virtue of subsection (1) so far as it purports to preclude a disclosure made for the primary purpose of releasing the information into the public domain.

(4)

The Secretary of State may by regulations amend this section—

(a)

to add, remove or modify a description of disclosure in relation to which subsection (1) applies (“a permitted disclosure”);

(b)

to extend the application of subsection (1) to a provision in an agreement which purports to impose an obligation or liability in connection with a permitted disclosure.

(5)

But regulations under subsection (4)(a) must not make any provision which would apply subsection (1) in relation to a disclosure—

(a)

made by a person other than a victim or a person who reasonably believes they are a victim, or

(b)

that does not relate to relevant conduct.

(6)

In this section—

F3“Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme” means—

(a)

the schemes established by arrangements made under section 1 of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995, or

(b)

arrangements made by the Secretary of State for compensation for criminal injuries in operation before the commencement of those schemes;

“entitled to practise”, in relation to a regulated profession, is to be read in accordance with section 19(2) of the Professional Qualifications Act 2022;

“law enforcement functions” means functions for the purposes of the investigation or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties;

“partner”: a person is a “partner” of another person if they are married to each other, in a civil partnership with each other or in an intimate personal relationship with each other which is of significant duration;

“qualified lawyer” means a person who is an authorised person in relation to a reserved legal activity for the purposes of the Legal Services Act 2007 F4or a person who is a registered foreign lawyer;

F5“registered foreign lawyer” means a person who is registered with the Law Society under section 89 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990;

“regulated profession” and “regulator” have the same meanings as in the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 (see section 19 of that Act);

“relevant conduct” means conduct by virtue of which the person making the disclosure is or reasonably believes they are a victim (see section 1(1) and (2) of this Act);

F6“Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme” means the scheme established by arrangements made under section 47 of the Crime and Security Act 2010.