Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rachel Maclean and Jack Lopresti

Tuesday 18th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Maclean]

It is lovely to have these exchanges across the Dispatch Boxes with the hon. Lady, and I am sure that we will have more of them, because it is in all our interests that we improve the criminal justice system and the response to rape. That is why, as she well knows, the work of the rape review is vital, and we have seen police referrals, Crown Prosecution Service charges and Crown court receipts increasing as a result of that vital work, driven by our law enforcement partners and the CPS. I draw her attention to two specific measures that we have introduced to assist: we have ended the criminal Bar strike, thanks to the efforts of the Lord Chancellor; and we have rolled out section 28 pre-recorded evidence to all Crown courts in the country to spare rape victims the trauma of live cross-questioning.

[Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con)]

3. What steps his Department is taking to help offenders find employment following their release from prison.