article: Chris Grayling says the proposed law will see victims kept informed about their case and courts will allow most to provide a personal impact statement. Separate plans will see a victims' information service set up next March and more child witnesses film their evidence before a trial starts. Labour is to outline its own proposals for victims in the coming weeks. At the moment, a victims' code sets out guidance for courts, police and the probation service. The proposed law, which will be subject to a bill in the next Parliament, will enshrine several of its measures into legislation. The code's entitlement for victims to tell the sentencing judge and offender how a crime has impacted their life through a statement is among the measures that will become law. The information service will include a helpline and website and aims to guide victims to support services. Ministers will also consult on plans to pay compensation up front to victims - many have had to wait years in the past - and courts will be modernised to include separate waiting areas for victims and defendants. Publicly-funded lawyers will also be required to have specialist training before working on serious sex offence cases. Mr Grayling said the current legal system could be daunting for victims. "Victims, especially the most vulnerable, can find it traumatic and difficult to know where to turn to for advice and support," he said. "We are also making it easier for them to find whatever it is they need by establishing one simple source of information and help - be it tracking the progress of their case, applying for compensation, knowing what to expect in court, or understanding the range of support available to them." The government is hoping to extend a pilot scheme in three Crown Courts that allows children to be cross-examined before trials, away from court, with their evidence filmed and later shown on video during a trial. Concerns had previously been raised about how children were affected by the court process - with reports of one victim who was cross-examined for 12 days by seven defence barristers. If successful, the scheme will be apply to all child witnesses by the end of 2017 and may also be extended to include vulnerable adult witnesses. The chief executive of the charity Victim Support, Mark Castle, said: "Children and other vulnerable victims and witnesses should not have to face the trauma of giving evidence in a court building, unless they choose to." He added: "Our witness service team, who work behind the scenes in court, see every day just how distressing it can be... especially for victims of a violent or sexual crime. "Putting victims' rights in law sends a clear message to police, prosecutors and the courts that addressing the needs of victims is central to their work - it cannot be an optional extra." Victims' Commissioner Baroness Newlove welcomed the plans but questioned how they would differ in practice from the existing victims' code. "A new law cannot be used as a quick fix," she said. "Recently,
summary: Crime victims in England and Wales are to be given legal rights for the first time, the justice secretary has said.