Sexual Offences: Disclosure of Information

(asked on 14th December 2022) - View Source

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to protect the privacy rights of victims of sexual offence cases in a court of law by ensuring the non-disclosure of their counselling records.


Answered by
Michael Tomlinson Portrait
Michael Tomlinson
Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
This question was answered on 19th December 2022

The recent review of Disclosure found that too much third-party material, including victims counselling and therapy notes, were being accessed. The revised Attorney General’s Disclosure Guidelines published in May 2022 addressed this and introduced increased privacy protections for victims. Prior written reasons must be recorded before accessing this material, and access can only occur where it is necessary and proportionate. Pre-trial therapy notes will now only be accessed in the rare circumstances that they are absolutely necessary to a reasonable line of inquiry. This ensures significant protections for victims while maintaining a fair trial.

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