The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 8) Regulations 2025
These Regulations partially enacted Section 20 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 on November 7, 2025, and fully enacted Sections 28, 29, and 30 on January 12, 2026.
These Regulations exercise powers under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 to specify dates for bringing certain provisions of that Act into force, representing the eighth commencement instrument.
Specifically, Regulation 2 brings into force part of Section 20 concerning child victims of domestic abuse, requiring notification to schools starting November 7, 2025, while Regulation 3 brings into force Sections 28, 29, and 30 on January 12, 2026, relating to information requests for victims, service police information protocols, and the review of counselling information requests.
Arguments For
Ensures incremental implementation of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, allowing for necessary preparatory work before key measures take effect.
Implementation of Section 20 mandates early notification to schools regarding child victims of domestic abuse, enhancing child welfare and protection systems.
Bringing force to Sections 28 and 29 establishes formal duties for police and service police regarding information requests related to victims, standardising protection protocols.
Regulation 3(c) ensures the Secretary of State reviews the operation of early provisions concerning counselling information requests, supporting ongoing legislative refinement.
Arguments Against
The staggered commencement dates may create temporary inconsistencies in the application of victim support and notification duties across different time frames.
Introducing new duties on police forces (Sections 28, 29) and requiring new arrangements for notifying schools places administrative burdens on these public bodies prior to the effective dates (November 2025 and January 2026).
Delays in implementing provisions related to comprehensive victim information handling (Sections 28, 29) mean victims must wait longer for potentially enhanced rights and standardized procedures.
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 81(2) and (5) of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024
1
The Secretary of State formally created these Regulations using the authority given by sections 81(2) and 81(5) of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.
Citation and interpretation 1.
This heading introduces the first substantive regulation, covering how the Regulations are cited and defining key terms used throughout the legislation.
(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Commencement No. 8) Regulations 2025.
This states the official short title by which these specific commencement regulations are known.
(2) In these Regulations, “the 2024 Act” means the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.
This clarifies that any subsequent reference to "the 2024 Act" within these Regulations refers exclusively to the main Victims and Prisoners Act passed in 2024.
Provision coming into force on 7th November 2025 2.
This section specifies which parts of the parent Act become legally active on November 7, 2025.
Section 20 of the 2024 Act (child victims of domestic abuse) comes into force on 7th November 2025, in so far as it relates to the insertion of section 49A (arrangements to notify schools etc) into the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 2.
Section 20 of the 2024 Act, concerning provisions for child victims of domestic abuse, comes into effect on November 7, 2025.
This activation applies only to the part of Section 20 that inserts new section 49A, which dictates notification arrangements to schools, into the existing Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
Provisions coming into force on 12th January 2026 3.
This section outlines the provisions of the 2024 Act that will become operational on January 12, 2026.
The following provisions of the 2024 Act come into force on 12th January 2026—
Introduces the list of sections from the 2024 Act that are scheduled to start operating on this specific date.
(a) section 28 (information relating to victims);
Section 28 of the 2024 Act, dealing with general information related to victims, commences on this date.
(b) section 29 (information relating to victims: service police etc);
Section 29, which addresses information relating to victims specifically involving service police and related bodies, becomes effective on this date.
(c) section 30 (review of provisions relating to counselling information requests).
Section 30, which mandates a review of existing rules regarding information requests connected to victim counselling, starts on January 12, 2026.
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