Oral Answers to Questions

Anneliese Midgley Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

9. What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates for cases relating to violence against women and girls.

[Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley) (Lab)]

10. What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates for cases relating to violence against women and girls.

[The Solicitor General (Sarah Sackman)]

For too long, women and girls across the country have faced routine threats of appalling violence and abuse. This Government were elected with a clear mandate to halve violence against women and girls within a decade; that is what we will deliver, and it is something to which I am personally committed. In the early stages of that process, I have recently met both the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the Victims’ Commissioner to discuss how the Crown Prosecution Service can work closely with the police from the earliest point to build robust, victim-centred investigations that will drive improvements in conviction rates.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Solicitor General]

I absolutely share my hon. Friend’s concerns. As her constituent’s heartbreaking experience illustrates, such delays are traumatic for victims. They too often lead to what is known as victim attrition, which leads to trials collapsing and deters others from reporting these sorts of offences. This has gone on for far too long, and we need to get a grip on the situation. That is why the Lord Chancellor has committed to introducing specialist rape courts and working with the judiciary to drive down wait times. Obviously, those need to be carefully considered while navigating other pressures on the justice system, and I hope to be able to update the House on the Government’s plan in due course.

[Anneliese Midgley]

Between 2022 and 2023, my constituency of Knowsley had the highest number of deaths per capita due to domestic abuse, but very few people are charged for domestic abuse, let alone prosecuted. Will the Law Officers meet me to discuss how we can join up the criminal justice system so that the police and prosecutors work together to take dangerous abusers off our streets?

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the incredibly distressing figures. As I said before, the human stories that lie behind them will each tell a tragic tale, which is why tackling this issue is at the heart of this Government’s agenda. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend and her local chief Crown prosecutor, Jonathan Storer, to discuss this serious issue and look at how we can improve joint working between the CPS and the police.