For too long police requests for victims’ sensitive records such as medical and counselling notes have been disproportionate during investigations. This has been a particular concern in cases involving rape and serious sexual offences. Unnecessary requests are distressing for victims and delay the investigative process.
The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 introduced duties mandating police and other authorised persons to only request victim information such as medical records when it is necessary and proportionate, and in pursuit of a reasonable line of enquiry. These duties also created special protections for victims’ counselling records, reflecting the highly sensitive nature of these records.
To enable these measures to come into force, the Government have now defined counselling services in regulations under section 44A of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and finalised the accompanying code of practice. Stakeholder feedback informed changes to strengthen the code.
We have defined counselling services broadly for the purposes of these duties. The definition is intended to capture all services, whether remunerated or voluntary, offering psychological, therapeutic or emotional support aimed at improving the service user’s emotional, psychological and mental health. This means that a broad spectrum of victim information will be afforded the higher safeguards outlined above and is intended to protect the privacy and dignity of victims within the criminal justice system. It also supports the Government’s wider commitment to halving the incidence of violence against women and girls over the next decade.
The final code of practice to be brought into force, which includes this definition of counselling services, has been laid before Parliament as a draft. A copy of
the Government response to the consultation on the code will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on
www.gov.uk.These new duties will come into force on 12 January 2026.
[HCWS1112]