Overview

This bill, initially proposed in the House of Lords, aimed to improve the process of informing victims' families about parole hearings for convicted offenders. However, the House of Commons rejected the bill due to existing mechanisms already in place for keeping victims and their families informed.

Description

The proposed legislation sought to mandate the creation of a Parole Board database. This database would contain the details of family members of victims (parents, guardians, children, siblings for murder/manslaughter; victims or their parents/guardians for indecent image offenses) involved in cases where the offender is applying for parole. The Parole Board would be required to contact these individuals at each stage of the parole process. Information shared would include hearing dates, rights related to judicial reviews, sentence details, Parole Board decisions, and other relevant rights. The bill included provisions for individuals to opt out of the database. A review of the database's effectiveness was also planned. The House of Commons rejected the bill because it felt that this would duplicate existing processes of keeping victims' families informed.

Government Spending

The bill would have introduced new costs related to the creation and maintenance of the database, staff training, and the review process. Specific financial figures were not provided in the bill text.

Groups Affected

The bill would have directly impacted:
• Victims' families: They would have received more regular updates on the parole process.
• The Parole Board: Increased administrative burden to manage the database and communication.
• The Secretary of State: Responsibility for overseeing the review of the database's effectiveness.
The rejection of the bill means none of these groups experienced the intended changes.

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