The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has welcomed the transfer of a £1.26million budget from central government to his office for spending on victims’ services in Hertfordshire.
 
From 1st April, David Lloyd will be responsible for the commissioning of the support services offered to victims of crime in the county. Up to now, victims’ surcharges collected from offenders in courts have been used by the Ministry of Justice to commission victims’ services on a national level. The new arrangements will see these budgets transferred over to the 41 PCCs across England and Wales for spending locally.
 
As well as victims’ services, the £1.26million budget also includes spending on Restorative Justice services, further spending for victims of sexual violence and domestic violence and a portion of prisoners’ earnings which is also to be spent on victims. The Victims’ Minister Mike Penning wrote to the Commissioner on Friday (13th February) confirming the funding allocation for Hertfordshire from each of these different pots.*
 
The changes have been anticipated for some time and preparatory work for the transfer is well underway at the Commissioner’s office. The new arrangements for supporting victims in Hertfordshire will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
 
David Lloyd said: “From April, victims’ services will be made to measure for victims of crime in Hertfordshire, better reflecting their needs and wishes, as opposed to the one-size-fits-all approach we’ve had up to now. This is a massive step forward in creating a more victim-centred criminal justice system in the county.
 
“I look forward to telling the people of Hertfordshire more about it in the coming weeks and months. And while on paper the overall budget of my office appears to be going up, this does not reflect any increase in cost to the taxpayer. Victims’ services are paid for from costs imposed by the courts on offenders. The portion of the council tax bill that pays for policing in Hertfordshire will not go up in 2015/16.”