Victims and Courts Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 5

**What happened** On 25 March 2026, the House of Commons voted by 292 ayes to 162 noes to disagree with Lords Amendment 5 to the Victims and Courts Bill, sending it back to the upper chamber. The amendment had been added by the House of Lords to strengthen provisions for victims, but the government argued the change was not workable in its current form and should not be incorporated into the Bill at this stage. **Why it matters** Lords Amendment 5 was one of a series of amendments tabled in the upper chamber aimed at improving victims' rights and access to justice under the Bill. By rejecting it, the Commons preserved the Bill as the government prefers it, while leaving open the possibility of future changes through separate means. The vote was one of several on the same day, with the Commons also disagreeing with Lords Amendments 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 by similar margins. The broader Bill includes measures compelling offenders to attend their sentencing hearings, restricting the parental responsibility of serious offenders including child sex offenders, and improving communications with victims throughout the justice process. **The politics** The vote divided entirely along government and opposition lines. All 287 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted backed the government's rejection of the amendment, while Conservatives (85), Liberal Democrats (58), Greens (4), Plaid Cymru (3), the Democratic Unionist Party (3) and Reform UK (3) all voted to retain it. Two independents supported the government; five opposed it. The Bill now returns to the Lords, where the government has indicated it intends to bring forward its own revised provisions on several of the disputed issues, including court transcripts and time limits for families of homicide victims abroad.