(1)The Secretary of State must appoint persons to form a panel, to be known as the Victims' Advisory Panel.
(2)The Secretary of State must consult the Attorney General and the Lord Chancellor before—
(a)appointing a person to the Panel, or
(b)removing a person from the Panel.
(3)The Secretary of State must consult the Panel at such times and in such manner as he thinks appropriate on matters appearing to him to relate to victims of offences or anti-social behaviour or witnesses of offences or anti-social behaviour.
(4)The Secretary of State may reimburse the members of the Panel for such of their travelling and other expenses as he thinks appropriate.
(5)If the Secretary of State consults the Panel under subsection (3) in a particular year, he must arrange for the Panel to prepare a report for the year—
(a)summarising what the Panel has done in response to the consultation, and
(b)dealing with such other matters as the Panel consider appropriate.
(6)If a report is prepared under subsection (5), the Secretary of State must—
(a)arrange for it to be published, and
(b)lay it before Parliament.
(7)The non-statutory Victims' Advisory Panel is to be treated as having been established in accordance with this section.
(8)If the Secretary of State consults the non-statutory Victims' Advisory Panel on a matter mentioned in subsection (3) before the date on which this section comes into force, the consultation is to be treated as taking place under subsection (3).
(9)The non-statutory Victims' Advisory Panel is the unincorporated body of persons known as the Victims' Advisory Panel established by the Secretary of State before the date on which this section comes into force.
(10)In this section “year” means a period of 12 months beginning on 1 April.