Victims and Prisoners Act 2024

34 Meaning of “major incident” etc

(1) This Part concerns advocates for victims of major incidents.

(2) In this Part, “major incident” means an incident that—

(a) occurs in England or Wales after this section comes into force,

(b) causes the death of, or serious harm to, a significant number of individuals, and

(c) is declared in writing by the Secretary of State to be a major incident for the purposes of this Part.

(3) Before declaring an incident that occurs in Wales to be a major incident, the Secretary of State must consult the Welsh Ministers.

(4) For the purposes of this Part, “harm” includes physical, mental or emotional harm.

(5) In this Part, “victims”, in relation to a major incident, means—

(a) individuals who have suffered harm as a direct result of the incident (whether or not that harm is serious harm), and

(b) close family members or close friends of individuals who have died or suffered serious harm as a direct result of the incident.

(6) In this Part, “advocate” means—

(a) the standing advocate appointed under section 35(1);

(b) an individual appointed as an advocate in respect of a major incident under section 36(1).

(7) But a reference in this Part to an advocate appointed in respect of a major incident includes the standing advocate only if the standing advocate has been appointed in respect of that incident under section 36(1).