Draft code of practice under Chapter 3A of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022: government response

Product Description

This document sets out the government’s response to the public consultation on the draft Code of Practice relating to the handling of third-party material (TPM) requests, particularly counselling records, under Chapter 3A of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

This consultation invited views on a draft Requests for Victim Information Code of Practice which, once in force, will accompany new duties relating to third party material requests. These duties create a framework to ensure that authorised persons, including the police, only make requests for a victim’s third-party material when it is necessary, proportionate and sensitive to the privacy of victims. The consultation sought views on the clarity, practicality, and adequacy of the proposed guidance, especially in relation to safeguarding victims’ privacy and ensuring proportionality in investigative practices.

This consultation also sought views on a definition of counselling services in the context of these duties.

The consultation was open to the public and was available via the gov.uk website. This consultation ran from the 8 April until the 1 July 2025.

The consultation received 81 responses from a range of stakeholders, including victim support organisations, therapists, legal professionals, police representatives, and individual survivors. Completely empty submissions were excluded from this count.

The majority of responses expressed strong support for the principle of protecting counselling records, while also raising concerns about the clarity and enforceability of the Code.