Sentencing: no clear idea on cost or operation of plan to provide families with advocates

High-profile proposals to introduce victim's advocates were published by the government last week, even though it has no clear idea how much the scheme will cost, how it will be funded or the way it will work.


Constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman QC announced that the relatives of murder and manslaughter victims could be given the opportunity to make a verbal statement to the court. It would be made after a guilty verdict, and the judge would be able to take the remarks into account in passing sentence.


Launching a consultation, Ms Harman said it was not possible to know how much it would cost as it was uncertain how many people would take up the opportunity or who would assume the role - a Crown Prosecution Service lawyer, independent lawyer, a member of the family or a lay representative chosen by the family.


She added the purpose of the consultation and a planned pilot was to work out all these things, and highlighted the increased funding that has gone to support victims of crime, indicating that the initiative may not be financed from the already overspent legal aid budget.


Ms Harman said the simple reason for the scheme was to make the relatives feel involved in the process. 'It's a human issue, not a legal technical issue.'


She added: 'Bereaved relatives sometimes feel they are completely excluded from the system. We have an oral tradition in our courts and the only people confined to writing are the victim's relatives.'


The consultation says legally qualified advocates could be provided through a panel, and asks whether their provision via legal aid should be subject to a means test, if one is introduced in the Crown Court.


The minister said there would be a three-month consultation to consider all practical aspects before a pilot in five courts from April 2006. She stressed the government was fulfilling a manifesto commitment to help victims of crime, and said it could be extended to include the victims of rape or death by dangerous driving.


Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: 'We recognise the terrible impact that serious crime has on a victim's family. However, we question whether this proposal is appropriate or necessary, particularly as the effect of the crime on the victim's family can already be given in a victim's personal statement.'


Ms Paraskeva expressed concern about how the scheme would be paid for at a time when the legal aid budget is already stretched.


Rodney Warren, director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, said there was a danger the scheme would raise expectations in the minds of the relatives, expectations that would not be fulfilled.