Member

We remain supportive of these clauses in the Bill and intend only to strengthen them and make the benefits accessible to a wider cohort of victims. I therefore urge the Minister to reflect on the potential inconsistency created by restricting these powers to the Crown Court when sentencing powers are in the course of amendment, transferring increasingly serious cases to the magistrates’ courts, and the risk that that entails of creating a two-tier system of justice for victims.