Victims and Prisoners Act 2024

Victims and Prisoners Act 2024[a]
Act of Parliament
coat of arms
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to make provision about victims of criminal conduct and others affected by criminal conduct; about the appointment and functions of advocates for victims of major incidents; for an infected blood compensation scheme; about the release of prisoners; about the membership and functions of the Parole Board; to prohibit certain prisoners from forming a marriage or civil partnership; and for connected purposes.
Citation2024 c. 21
Introduced by
(Commons)
Lord Bellamy, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lords)
Territorial extent 
[b]
Dates
Royal assent24 May 2024
Commencementvarious[c]
Other legislation
Amends
Amended by
Relates to
Status: Amended
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Text of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (c. 21) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced by the Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab, in March 2023.[1]

The act makes provision for the establishment of an Independent Advocate to support victims of major incidents, and makes changes to the parole system of England and Wales, allowing government ministers to veto the release of some prisoners. Ministers will also have the power to restrict marriage in prisons in England and Wales for those serving whole life orders.[2] The bill was introduced into Parliament on 29 March 2023.[3] It was one of the last pieces of legislation passed into law by the parliament elected in 2019 before it was dissolved prior to the 2024 general election.[4]

In December 2023, an amendment was added to the legislation to establish a compensation scheme for victims of the contaminated haemophilia blood products scandal. The government failed to prevent the amendment in a vote in the House of Commons, despite a three-line whip, in what was seen as a significant blow to the Sunak administration's authority.[5][6] Provision relating to inflected blood compensation is set out in Part 3 of the act.

A further (but unsuccessful) amendment, put forward with the support of the Catholic Church and the Church of England, would have made provision for a central collection of data covering "the number of primary carers in prison and the number and age of their children".[7]

Section 34(2) provides for significant incidents to be declared as "major incidents" and for the Independent Public Advocate (IPA) to be called upon to support victims of the incident in partnership with relevant authorities.[8]

One of its first times the provision of the act were used was in August 2024, in order to prevent the serial killer Levi Bellfield from entering into a civil partnership with his girlfriend.[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Section 82.
  2. ↑ Section 80.
  3. ↑ Section 81.

References

  1. ↑ "Victims placed at heart of justice system under radical shakeup". HM Government of the United Kingdom. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Russell, Rachel (29 March 2023). "Ministers can veto prisoners' parole in Victims and Prisoners Bill". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "Raab gives himself power to veto prisoners' release and ban inmates getting married". The Independent. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  4. ↑ Richards, Matthew (24 May 2024). "Jade Ward: Law passed to restrict killer parents' rights". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  5. ↑ "Ministers lose infected blood vote after Tory MPs revolt". BBC News. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Cowburn, Ashley (4 December 2023). "Rishi Sunak suffers humiliating Commons defeat over Infected blood scandal". The Mirror. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, Catholic and Anglican Prisons bishops support bill amendment on hidden “devastating consequences” for children when primary caregivers are imprisoned, published on 25 March 2024, accessed on 27 May 2026
  8. ↑ Independent Public Advocate, Deputy Prime Minister stands up IPA to support Victims of Manchester Synagogue Attack, published on 3 October 2025, accessed on 5 October 2025
  9. ↑ "Levi Bellfield: Serial killer blocked from marriage under new law". BBC News. 2 August 2024.
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