Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, with reference to his oral contribution of 27 October 2016, Official Report, column 410, whether he plans to look at guidance given by the Crown Prosecution Service to the lawyers who appear before the courts and regularly deal with applications of sexual offences.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Specially trained rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) prosecutors are committed to robustly opposing applications pursuant to Section 41 Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 where it is appropriate to do so and are assisted in this process by online legal guidance and by face-to-face training which is compulsory for all RASSO prosecutors. With a view to ensuring that performance is maintained in this important area the CPS is currently developing a new training course on the Section 41 provisions which is designed to assist both RASSO prosecutors and members of the independent Bar. The CPS is also in the process of updating legal guidance for prosecutors on rape and sexual offences which will feature a detailed section on the operation of the Section 41 provisions. The new training course and guidance will be launched later this year. As part of a wider evaluation of the operation of the Section 41 provisions I intend to look at both of these new CPS training products when they have been completed.