Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what redress is available to victims where repeated administrative errors by the Crown Prosecution Service result in a criminal trial being postponed on multiple occasions; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of such delays on access to justice for elderly and seriously ill victims.
Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Where victims feel dissatisfied with the service provided by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), they can submit a complaint through the CPS complaints procedure. The CPS operates a three stage complaints procedure where complaints relate to the standard of service provided by the CPS. In these cases, the final stage of the complaints process is referral to the Independent Assessor of Complaints (IAC). If the complaint is upheld, the CPS will apologise, and attempt to put the matter right wherever possible, as well as take steps to ensure that it does not happen again. In exceptional cases, where there has been an error on their part and there is clear evidence of uninsured material loss or severe distress caused by maladministration or poor service, a modest consolatory payment may be offered. Following an IAC review, victims who believe the CPS has failed to meet its obligations under the Victims’ Code may ask their MP to refer their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which can consider whether any further investigation or redress is required.
Tackling delays in the criminal justice system is an important part of delivering the swift justice that victims and witnesses deserve and improving confidence in the criminal justice system. The CPS is working with criminal justice system partners to reduce inefficiency and avoidable delay in case preparation. On 1 October 2026, a new Practice Direction on Listing in the Criminal Courts came into effect. This requires courts to convene a Case Progression meeting in the third week before a trial is listed, of which the CPS will attend. This aims to ensure issues requiring operational and judicial resolution are addressed early. The CPS is also taking action to improve its service to victims through its Victims Programme.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to increase prosecution rates for cases relating to violence against women and girls in Surrey.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
In 2023-24, in the Surrey police force area, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecuted 487 cases flagged for domestic abuse and 41 cases flagged for rape.
The CPS uses thematic monitoring flags to track progress and performance surrounding certain types of cases within its case management system (CMS). "Flags " are identified and applied by lawyers and administrative staff. Monitoring flags currently exist within CMS for the following VAWG-related offences: rape; domestic abuse; so-called honour abuse / violence; forced marriage; and child abuse.
These figures for 2023-24 represent an increase from 434 and 30 in 2022-23, respectively.
The CPS has already produced a new operating model for the prosecution of rape based on robust evidence from Operation Soteria and launched the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan with policing in November 2024. The early results of improvements in partnership working with policing under the plan have already led to modest initial increases in domestic abuse referrals, setting a strong foundation for future improvements.
In September 2024, the CPS prosecuted the third conviction for female genital mutilation (FGM) and the first conviction of conspiring to commit FGM in England and Wales. This marks a significant milestone and demonstrates the growing effectiveness of prosecuting these cases.
However, more can be done to increase prosecution rates for VAWG, in Surrey and across the country. This Government’s ambition is to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, as part of our Safer Streets Mission, and delivering effective prosecutions is a key part of this.
To address the increasing complexity of VAWG offending, and holistic needs of victims, the CPS is producing a new VAWG strategy which will be published in spring 2025.