§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he plans to make available to victims about reparation orders when obtaining their views about the making of such an order. [22714]
§ Mr. MichaelCurrently, the Victim's Charter explains to the victims of any criminal offence what happened after that offence has been reported to the police, and outlines the standards of service that victims of crime can expect to receive from the criminal justice agencies. In the future, in cases where the court may consider imposing a reparation order, the victim will be advised that this is the case, and his view on receiving reparation from the young offender will be sought.
The reparation order will be piloted, as set out in our White Paper "No More Excuses", published in November 1997. The pilot will allow for all aspects of the order to be evaluated and "fine-tuned", including the process of liaison with the victim. It is therefore too early to say definitively exactly what information might be given to victims when obtaining their views about receiving reparation from a young offender. However, the victims in such cases will not be asked for their view on the making of a reparation order; a victim will simply be asked whether he or she is willing to receive specific reparation from the young offender, and what form that reparation might take. There is no question of requiring victims to receive direct reparation if that is not their wish. If the victim does not with to receive such reparation, this will not preclude the making of a reparation order, as reparation may alternatively be made to the community at large.