Oral Answers to Questions

Lucy Rigby Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Matt Turmaine (Watford) (Lab)]

3. What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates in cases of violence against women and girls.

[The Solicitor General (Lucy Rigby)]

Earlier this month, we marked International Women’s Day, and it was very moving to hear the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), again record in this House the names of women and girls who were killed in the past year. The scale of violence against women and girls in this country is completely intolerable, which is why, under our plan for change, this Government have already taken concrete steps to tackle it, including the introduction of Raneem’s law to put domestic abuse experts into 999 control rooms.

[Matthew Patrick]

I thank the Solicitor General for her answer. Yesterday, I spoke to one of my constituents. When she was 14, she was raped by an adult whom she should have been able to trust. She woke up to him raping her. She has been carrying that with her for decades. Two years ago, she reported what happened to her and she has been fighting for her day in court all of that time. Can the Solicitor General please set out what the Government are doing to fix the broken system that is failing to deliver justice, and will she meet me to discuss how we can better support victim survivors such as my constituent?

[The Solicitor General]

I am very sorry to hear of the case that my hon. Friend raises. As he knows, this Government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis with a record Crown court backlog, meaning that far too many victims such as his constituent are waiting too long for their day in court. As part of the domestic abuse joint justice plan, in his local area the Crown Prosecution Service is trialling an enhanced partnership between Merseyside and Cheshire police and CPS prosecutors, to ensure that charging decisions, including in rape and serious sexual offence cases, are made more swiftly and stronger cases are brought from the outset, with a view to quicker and more successful prosecutions.

[Irene Campbell]

As a former chair of North Ayrshire Women’s Aid, I know how low the prosecution rates are in cases of violence against women and girls, and how they can discourage people from coming forward at all. Victim withdrawal from prosecutions is also very high, for myriad reasons from poor treatment to long waiting times for court dates. What work is being done to make women feel more comfortable to come forward and report such cases, and to support them throughout the whole process?

[The Solicitor General]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s work in this area. She is right to raise the extremely important point of victim attrition, which is unacceptably high right across our United Kingdom. That is why we have taken swift action in England and Wales, through the CPS victim transformation programme, appointing victim liaison officers to support victims throughout the legal process. The Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has also pledged to make this issue a priority as part of his new direction for Scotland.

[Matt Turmaine]

Controlling and coercive behaviour is an insidious form of abuse. Will my hon. and learned Friend please outline what the Government are doing to deal with it?

[The Solicitor General]

Insidious is the right description. We fully recognise just how damaging that form of abuse is, and that it can follow a pattern of escalation that can lead to violence. That is precisely why the joint justice plan is underpinned by a commitment to tackle all forms of domestic abuse, ensuring that police and prosecutors can jointly tackle coercive control. The Court of Appeal recently increased two sentences for controlling and coercive behaviour by way of the unduly lenient sentence scheme, which I hope sends a very strong signal about just how seriously such conduct will be taken.

[Sir Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)]

Can the Solicitor General confirm that it is imperative that prosecution rates for all cases of violence are increased, and that she is not suggesting to the prosecuting authorities that they should discriminate on the grounds of gender?

[The Solicitor General]

I can confirm that this Government and the CPS take seriously prosecuting all crimes, including the most serious ones. Equality before the law is a fundamental principle that underpins the rule of law and is foundational to this country.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Many victims are so traumatised after an assault that it takes them some time to come forward. That causes delays and allows perpetrators to erase their traces. What more can we do to encourage any victim of assault to come forward as quickly as possible, knowing that they will have support as soon as they report something?

[The Solicitor General]

The hon. Member raises an important point. The CPS is working right across the country to ensure that victims feel more able to come forward and that its service to victims improves. She will understand that the court backlog is key; unfortunately, we inherited a record court backlog from the previous Government, and we have to tackle it. The Lord Chancellor is taking a range of measures to get it down, so that victims will have the confidence that when they come forward they will have their day in court and justice will be done.

[Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)]

In Surrey alone there are 1,500 cases waiting to be heard in our Crown court, including 166 sexual offences against women and girls. Prosecutors have been telling victims that they have between two and five years to wait to get their day in court. That is appalling. Will the Solicitor General talk to the Ministry of Justice to reopen Woking’s court complex, which was closed by the Conservative Government, to provide greater legal capacity in Surrey?

[The Solicitor General]

The hon. Member is right to suggest that the root causes of the backlog are a direct result of Conservative choices and inaction. The previous Government closed more than 260 court buildings—in one year alone the Tories closed 84 magistrates courts—which clearly led to this considerable court backlog. I am pleased to say that the Lord Chancellor is taking action on that backlog by funding 108,500 sitting days in the Crown courts and increasing magistrates courts’ sentencing powers.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

4. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to use technology to help improve efficiency in the criminal justice system.

[The Solicitor General]

New technology has the potential to bring transformative benefits to the criminal justice system, as indeed it does to public services more broadly. The Government recognise that technology has the potential to radically enhance the way in which public services are delivered to the benefit of all of us and the public purse. For example, the Serious Fraud Office is trialling technology to improve the speed and quality of its disclosure work. The results have been promising. The tech identifies relevant documents 40% more quickly than traditional methods. I am pleased to say that it will be rolled out to more cases in the coming months.

[Lee Pitcher]

My constituency is home to three prisons: Lindholme, Hatfield and Moorland. Given the challenges faced in our local criminal justice system, particularly in managing caseloads in prisons and capacity, will the Solicitor General outline what specific technological innovations are being prioritised to speed up court processes and improve access to justice for victims and defendants?

[The Solicitor General]

The work to improve our public services has to include the better use of technology. The Government are taking decisive action to enable law enforcement agencies and prosecuting authorities to harness innovative and cutting-edge technologies to reduce the court backlog, improve efficiency in the criminal justice system and lead to better outcomes for victims. I am pleased to say that the Government Legal Department is providing leadership in this area through its artificial intelligence centre of excellence, which offers expert support to colleagues across Government.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)]

With shameful vandalism of buildings in Eastbourne’s Gildredge park and the torching of park benches in Shinewater park reflected across the country, we clearly need more tools to tackle such crimes in Eastbourne and beyond. Technology is one of those tools. Will the Solicitor General share with my constituents what tech the Government are set to deploy to help us address those crimes more efficiently through the criminal justice system?

[The Solicitor General]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for his question. As I outlined, tech is incredibly important to help the entirety of the criminal justice system function better. The CPS, for example, is committed to delivering more technology-enabled ways of working, including piloting digital jury bundles, which will help speed up the court process. I have already mentioned the Serious Fraud Office, which is trialling technology in a number of different areas, including its case management system, and I have also spoken about the Government Legal Department. The key is better use of technology to enable better ways of working across the entirety of the criminal justice system, including in the courts, and especially by the CPS, to enable more prosecutions.

[Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)]

5. What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of serious and violent crime in Huddersfield.

[The Solicitor General]

The Government’s priority is to keep our streets safe and to crack down on the serious and violent crime that unfortunately plagues far too many communities right across the country. As well as committing to more police officers and police community support officers on our streets, we have taken swift action to tackle knife crime by creating new offences and penalties to deter the possession and sale of these barbaric weapons. Our flagship Crime and Policing Bill will go even further with the biggest package of measures on crime and policing for decades.

[Harpreet Uppal]

Making sure that town centres such as Huddersfield’s are safe and thriving is important to our residents, local businesses and the night-time economy. How is the Solicitor General ensuring that the CPS works effectively with local law enforcement to bring offenders to justice and make our residents feel safe in our towns?

[The Solicitor General]

I know my hon. Friend has raised those important issues on the Floor of the House previously. I also know how hard she is working to ensure the safety of residents in her area.

Too many town centres and high streets are plagued by antisocial behaviour and shoplifting. Those crimes are too often dismissed as low-level, but communities have to deal with the consequences. This Government are taking action: we are putting an additional 13,000 police and PCSOs on our streets and introducing respect orders to ensure that disruptive antisocial behaviour is eradicated from our town centres. I have been visiting local CPS units around the country and have seen at first hand their hard work to ensure that crimes are successfully prosecuted and that perpetrators are put behind bars.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the shadow Solicitor General.

[Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling) (Con)]

The independent review of the Southport attacks condemns the CPS and police’s “near-silence” following the attacks and establishes silence as a catalyst for media disinformation and public distrust. It states that silence

“in the face of horrific events of major public interest is no longer an option.”

Does the Solicitor General accept that Government secrecy fuelled conspiracy theories and thus eroded confidence in our justice system, or is the independent King’s Counsel wrong?

[The Solicitor General]

Madam Deputy Speaker, you will not be surprised to hear that I completely reject the allegation of Government secrecy. Certainly, when it comes to Southport, those murders were some of the most harrowing in our country’s history and it was absolutely right that due process was followed to allow for the successful conviction. It was vital that justice was done in those cases.

The shadow Solicitor General will know that there are issues around contempt, which the Law Commission is looking at. The Law Commission has agreed to a request from the Home Secretary to speed up that review and it is vital that we get the results of that review as soon as possible.

[Helen Grant]

The independent review warned that government silence

“risked far more prejudice to any trial”

than transparency. Indeed, as is often said, the truth can be the best disinfectant. Will the Solicitor General therefore agree to greater transparency around major events in future and to implement Jonathan Hall’s recommendations on the provision of information to the public to ensure that that never happens again?

[The Solicitor General]

The shadow Solicitor General refers to Jonathan Hall and the terrorism review. Terrorism is, of course, something that the Government take extremely seriously. Jonathan Hall’s review has now concluded and it is right that his report—coupled with the contempt review—is considered in full by the Home Secretary, as an important step in addressing all those questions.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

6. What steps she is taking with the Crown Prosecution Service to help ensure the effective functioning of the courts.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

9. What steps she is taking with the Crown Prosecution Service to help ensure the effective functioning of the courts.

[The Solicitor General]

This Government unfortunately inherited a record Crown court backlog, with the human impact felt most severely by victims. Lengthy delays are much too common and victim attrition much too high. The Lord Chancellor has set out swift action to address that, including by increasing the number of Crown court sitting days and increasing magistrates courts’ sentencing powers to take pressure off the Crown courts.

[Ben Obese-Jecty]

The effective functioning of the courts relies on sound and sensible sentencing guidelines. In just 12 days, such guidelines will no longer exist and a two-tier sentencing system will come into force on the Solicitor General’s watch. This is the fourth time that the issue has been raised by the Opposition; I hope we will have more luck in securing a direct answer from the Solicitor General. Does she agree with the Justice Secretary that the guidelines will bring in a two-tier sentencing system, and can she confirm once and for all what is being done to stop those sentencing guidelines from coming into force?

[The Solicitor General]

I remind the hon. Member that the Conservative Sentencing Minister at the time wrote to the Sentencing Council making it clear that they welcomed the new guidance. Equality before the law is core to the application of the rule of law in this country and a foundational principle of our legal and judicial systems. I am sure that colleagues will welcome the fact that the Lord Chancellor met the chair of the Sentencing Council last week, and they had a constructive discussion around the guidelines.

[James Wild]

Justice delayed is justice denied. Will the Solicitor General confirm that the court backlog is rising rather than falling, and can she explain why the Lord Chancellor has not maximised the number of sitting days so that victims of rape and other serious crimes do not have to wait unduly for their cases to be heard?

[The Solicitor General]

The criticism would carry a little more weight were it not for the fact that the Conservatives spent the last 14 years driving up the record court backlog. The root causes of the backlog are a direct result of the Conservatives’ choices. The previous Government closed over 260 court buildings, and the record court backlog now stands at 73,000 cases. As we have said, the human cost of those delays is considerable—victims are waiting years for justice. The Lord Chancellor is taking robust action. She has increased the number of Crown court sitting days, increased magistrate courts’ sentencing powers and asked Sir Brian Leveson to lead an independent review of our criminal courts to look at options for longer-term reform. The previous Government did not act; they drove up the backlog. This Government are taking action.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Chair of the Justice Committee.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)]

As the Solicitor General says, the Lord Chancellor has substantially increased sitting days. The lack of a judge is only one reason that courts stand empty. In the first nine months of 2024, 368 Crown court trials were rendered ineffective because the prosecutor failed to attend. What discussions has the Solicitor General had with the CPS on improving prosecutor attendance, so that Crown courts can sit closer to judicial capacity?

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. The shortage of counsel is, indeed, a problem and has contributed to the record Crown court backlog. The Crown Prosecution Service is widening their panel, including for rape and serious sexual offences counsel. I have had regular discussions with the chair of the Bar Council around its work to try to ensure that criminal practitioners continue to stay in that line of work. I am also conscious that Ministry of Justice colleagues are very much committed to the sustainability of the Bar and are having regular discussions.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

The previous Conservative Government presided over a justice system where 60% of rape victims abandoned their cases, primarily due to the delays in court proceedings. This Government have prioritised victims by allocating a record number of sitting days. Does the Solicitor General agree that despite Opposition Members’ expressions of outrage, their Government failed to tackle the backlog and deliver timely justice to victims?

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I have said a number of times, the root causes of the backlog lie with the Conservatives not taking action. It falls to this Government to take action, and it is action we are taking.

[James Asser (West Ham and Beckton) (Lab)]

7. What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of serious and violent crime in West Ham and Beckton constituency.

[The Solicitor General]

We are taking strong action as part of our plan for change to tackle the serious and violent crime on our streets. Our new Crime and Policing Bill will back our police and prosecutors by giving them enhanced and tougher powers to keep our streets safe, to tackle antisocial behaviour and to crack down on knife crime. I know my hon. Friend will also welcome the record £1.16 billion investment in the Metropolitan police from the Home Secretary and the Mayor of London, which will help deliver this Government’s safer streets mission in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

[James Asser]

My constituents in West Ham and Beckton are extremely concerned about knife crime. We have had a serious number of incidents over the last few years, including in the last few weeks. Could my hon. and learned Friend reassure my constituents on the work that the Government are doing to take a stronger approach on prosecuting knife crime and the work being done to support victims?

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this important issue. This Government have already banned machetes. We are introducing legislation that will clamp down on the sale of dangerous knives online, and we are committed to banning ninja swords, too. I recently met the CPS’s victim transformation programme and heard how the CPS is fundamentally transforming the way it provides support to victims to ensure that they get the assistance they need at every stage of the criminal justice process.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

8. What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of serious and violent crime in Luton South and South Bedfordshire constituency.

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that question. The Government are taking decisive action to crack down on serious and violent crime right across the country, and to ensure that perpetrators of such offences are put behind bars. As such, I welcome her strong support for the Crime and Policing Bill, which contains tough measures to tackle knife crime and other crime.

[Rachel Hopkins]

Sadly, Bedfordshire police recorded some of the highest knife crime rates in England in the year ending March 2024. A robust and quick CPS response is key to delivering justice for victims and their families. How are the Government ensuring that we increase prosecution rates for those serious offences to keep dangerous offenders off our streets?

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend raises a critical issue that affects communities in Bedfordshire and across the country. An important part of the Government’s mission to make our streets safe is our commitment to halving knife crime in a decade. We have implemented our ban on zombie-style knives and machetes, and we are moving forward with our plans to ban ninja swords later this year. We know that more needs to be done to tackle the sale of knives and offensive weapons online, which is why we have recently announced Ronan’s law, which will include stricter rules for online knife sales.