I am delighted to see you in the Chair once again, Ms Buck. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford for her excellent contribution. It speaks to the strength of the Committee that its members have real-world experience and can apply it to the important matters that we are here to discuss.

Before turning to the amendment and new clause, it is worth taking stock of where we are in terms of the court process and the framework in which the amendment and new clause sit. Over the last 10 years or so—probably a bit longer—the environment for victims and witnesses has been completely transformed. It was not so long ago that a complainant in a case of serious violence or a serious sexual allegation had to turn up at court and eyeball the defendant. It required an extraordinary effort of will, and a lot of people just thought, “This isn’t worth the candle.”

Legislation was introduced that provided the opportunity for screens and giving evidence via live link. At the time, that was considered utterly revolutionary. People were clutching their pearls, saying, “That’s it; justice is dead in our country; there is no opportunity for people to get a fair trial” and so on. The culture has changed. Now, at plea and trial preparation hearings such orders are routinely made and, lo and behold, juries—indeed, benches of magistrates as well—seem to find it perfectly straightforward to make a judgment in the interests of justice on the facts in front of them.

Setting that context helps to bring us up to the situation at the moment. Let us imagine some facts for a moment. The allegation is one of sexual assault on the London Underground. At that early hearing, before the Crown court, long before the trial has even been scheduled, the judge will ask the prosecutor, “Are there any applications for a special measures direction?” The prosecutor will stand up and say, “Yes, there is a complainant in this case and it is an allegation of a sexual nature, so I will be inviting the court to make a special measures direction in the normal way.” That is precisely what will happen, because it will be automatic.

I pause to note one further point. If the complainant says, “Forget this. I don’t want a screen, and I don’t want to give evidence on a live link; I want to be there in the well of the court, because that is how I feel I will get justice”, that will be accommodated as well.

When we look at the provisions, it is important to understand how far we have come as a country. The hon. Lady was absolutely right when she talked about innovation. There has been a vast amount in recent years and I respectfully agree with her when she says that, even in that context, probably the single biggest innovation in allowing individuals to feel that they are getting justice is the victim personal statement. It is an opportunity to say at the end, “You, Judge, may have your own views about the impact on the victim. I will tell you how it has affected me and my family.” It is a spine-tingling moment in court when we get to the end of a case and it comes to sentencing. The prosecutor stands up to read it and it really brings home to us the whole purpose of the criminal justice system.

Clause 58 talks about special measures directions in cases involving domestic violence. As I have indicated, at the moment there are certain categories of offences where, at the lead hearing, the court imposes special measures directions, particularly in cases of serious sexual violence, or indeed ordinary violence. The clause extends the eligibility for assistance given to intimidated witnesses in criminal proceedings to complainants of any offence where it is alleged that the behaviour of the accused amounted to domestic abuse. In simple terms, the prosecutor will stand up and say, “My Lord, this is an allegation of violence in a domestic context. I will seek a special measures direction in the normal way. Thank you very much.” That will be imposed and it will be transformational. The officer in the case will pick up the phone to the complainant and say, “Don’t worry; there will be screens in this case.” She—for it is usually a she—can feel comforted from that.

Clause 58 also provides that a special measures direction provided for the witness’s evidence to be given in private can be given in cases where the proceedings relate to a domestic abuse-related offence. Of course, it is for the judge to decide whether he or she wants to exercise that discretion. There is a countervailing principle of openness of justice, but where the facts of the case militate in favour of proceedings being taken in private, that power is now there. I would not want to lose that point because it is a very important one.

We might think, “Why not extend all this?” Let me say a little bit about that. As the hon. Member for Edinburgh West has explained, amendment 54 seeks to enshrine in primary legislation the principle that victims of domestic abuse should be eligible for special measures in the family court. I mean no discourtesy, but I note that the way the amendment is drafted has some difficulties, although I understand precisely what she is trying to achieve. It states:

“In cases where it is alleged that domestic abuse is involved, Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (special measures directions in case of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses) applies to proceedings in the family court as it applies to criminal proceedings, but with any necessary modifications.”

But it is not clear what those modifications would be. My first concern is that there is a vagueness in the amendment, and it relates only to family proceedings and not to civil proceedings.

New clause 45, tabled by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley, goes a step further as it seeks to make provision for special measures in both the family and civil courts. Both hon. Members are right to raise the issue of special measures for domestic abuse victims in those two different jurisdictions. As I have indicated before, but to put it on the record, broadly speaking, special measures relating to putting in place a range of provisions to help vulnerable witnesses give their best evidence without fear or distress about testifying are good things. Although special measures are already generally available in jurisdictions, the Government recognise that how they are applied can be inconsistent, which can in turn have a negative impact on the experience of vulnerable witnesses in each jurisdiction. It is important to note that we are not moving from night into day, in so far as the measures have been available; it is a question of what this place can do to prompt that—in other words, to indicate or give a steer to the courts that we expect and hope them to be imposed more readily than perhaps was the case. This is an important issue that we need to get right.

In the family courts, there are currently no provisions for special measures in primary legislation. Instead, detailed provision is made in part 3A of the family procedure rules 2010, supported by practice direction 3AA. Part 3A puts the court under a duty in all cases to consider whether a party’s participation in proceedings, or the quality of evidence given by a party or witness, is likely to be diminished due to reasons of vulnerability. When considering vulnerability, the court must consider a wide range of matters, including concerns relating to abuse. If the court decides that special measures are necessary, it can make provision for a range of options to be put in place to assist the party or witness, such as protective screens or participation via video link.

The work of the Ministry of Justice’s expert panel on harm in the family courts, which I know a lot of hon. Members are aware of, has been magisterial. I pay tribute to those people who have given a huge amount of time and expertise to getting under the bonnet of something that is sensitive but is in clear need of careful examination. They have done magnificent work, and we are getting closer to seeing the fruits of those labours. The panel has examined the provision of special measures, as well as the supporting procedural rules, as part of its work and final report. That piece of work will be published in the coming weeks.