The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 5) Regulations 2025
The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 5) Regulations 2025 bring into force several provisions of the 2024 Act.
These include amendments to the power to alter release on license criteria for specific prisoners, changes to offences relevant to public protection decisions, and the introduction of mandatory guidance for defined victim support roles.
The regulations stipulate different commencement dates for these provisions, ranging from the day after their making to May and June 2025.
The regulations apply to England and Wales, and the Explanatory Note confirms no significant impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.
Arguments For
Intended benefits: The phased commencement of the Act allows for organized implementation of the new laws, minimizing disruption and allowing for adjustments based on initial experiences.
Legal/historical basis: The regulations are made under the power granted by section 81(2) of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, following established legislative processes.
Evidence cited: The Explanatory Note suggests that a full impact assessment was not required due to the lack of foreseen significant impacts on various sectors. This implies an evidence-based decision-making process.
Implementation methods: The regulations clearly specify the commencement dates for different provisions, enabling clear planning and execution for relevant stakeholders.
Arguments Against
Potential impacts: The amendments regarding marriage and civil partnerships for whole-life prisoners might face challenges because of existing human rights legislation and moral concerns.
Implementation challenges: Ensuring consistent implementation across different agencies and jurisdictions involved in law enforcement, judicial systems and prison services could prove difficult.
Unintended effects: The specified commencement dates might bring about unforeseen complexities in coordination with other aspects of the wider legal framework.
Alternative approaches: A more comprehensive impact assessment process could have been undertaken before setting commencement dates to evaluate the effects.
- Citation, extent and interpretation (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 5) Regulations 2025. (2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales. (3) In these Regulations, “the 2024 Act” means the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.
This section provides the title and legal scope of the regulations.
The regulations are officially named the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 5) Regulations 2025 and apply to England and Wales.
It defines “the 2024 Act” as the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 for brevity within the document.
- Provisions coming into force on the day after the day on which these Regulations are made The following provisions of the 2024 Act come into force on the day after the day on which these Regulations are made— (a) Section 60(1) and (2) (amendment of power to change test for release on licence of certain prisoners); (b) Schedule 2 (offences relevant to public protection decisions).
This section details provisions of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 that take effect immediately after the regulations are enacted.
Specifically, it brings into force sections 60(1) and 60(2), changing the test for releasing certain prisoners on license, and Schedule 2, which addresses offenses relevant to public protection decisions.
- Provision coming into force on 9th May 2025 Section 16 (guidance about specified victim support roles) of the 2024 Act comes into force on 9th May 2025.
This section states that Section 16 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, concerning guidance on victim support roles, will become effective on 9th May 2025.
- Provisions coming into force on 27th May 2025 The following provisions of the 2024 Act come into force on 27th May 2025— (a) Section 75(3)(a) (whole life prisoners prohibited from forming a marriage); (b) Section 76(7) (whole life prisoners prohibited from forming a civil partnership).
This section specifies that provisions relating to marriage and civil partnerships for whole-life prisoners (sections 75(3)(a) and 76(7) of the 2024 Act) will become law on 27th May 2025.
Explanatory Note (This note is not part of the Regulations) These Regulations bring into force specified provisions of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (c. 21) (“the 2024 Act”). These are the fifth commencement regulations made under the 2024 Act. Regulation 2 brings into force provisions amending the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and the Criminal Justice Act 2023 in relation to public protection decisions about the release on licence of certain prisoners. Regulation 3 brings into force provisions requiring guidance for specified victim support roles to be published. Regulation 4 brings into force provisions amending the Marriage Act 1949 and Civil Partnership Act 2004 requiring notices of marriage and civil partnership to state if the detained person is serving a life sentence and, if so, whether they are subject to a whole life order. A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary sector or community bodies is foreseen.
The explanatory note summarizes the regulations' purpose and impact.
It explains that these are the fifth set of commencement regulations for the 2024 Act.
The note clarifies the impact of each regulation and states that a full impact assessment wasn't completed due to the absence of foreseen significant effects on the private sector or community groups.
Note as to Earlier Commencement Regulations (This note is not part of the Regulations) The following provisions of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 have been brought into force by commencement regulations made before the date of these Regulations: Table 1 Provisions and commencement details Provision Date of commencement S.I. No. Section 68 17th June 2024 2024/755 Section 75 (partially) 2nd August 2024 2024/486 Section 76 (partially) 2nd August 2024 2024/486 Section 34 (partially) 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 36 (partially) 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 37 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 38 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 39 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 40 (partially) 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 41 (partially) 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 42 (partially) 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 43 (partially) 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 44 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 45 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 47 18th September 2024 2024/966 Section 66 (partially) 1st November 2024 2024/966 Section 67 1st November 2024 2024/966 Section 1 29th January 2025 2025/95 Section 2 (partially) 29th January 2025 2025/95 Section 5 29th January 2025 2025/95 Section 22 (partially) 29th January 2025 2025/95 Section 23 (partially) 29th January 2025 2025/95 Section 24 (partially) 29th January 2025 2025/95 Section 25 (partially) 29th January 2025 2025/95 Section 26 (partially) 29th January 2025 2025/95 Section 27 29th January 2025 2025/95 Section 66 (remainder) 1st February 2025 2024/966 Section 58 (partially) 3rd February 2025 2025/95 Section 59 (partially) 3rd February 2025 2025/95 Section 65 3rd February 2025 2025/95 Section 74 3rd February 2025 2025/95
This table lists earlier commencement regulations for the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, detailing which sections were brought into force and their respective commencement dates and Statutory Instrument (S.I.) numbers.
This indicates prior phases of putting the Act into effect.