Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing the actions set out in the report entitled End-to-End Rape Review Report on Findings and Actions.

The End-to-End Rape Review Report and Action Plan (published June 2021) set out a public ambition to more than double the number of adult rape cases reaching court by the end of this Parliament.

It is positive to see that we are making steady and sustained progress on this ambition and that we are currently on-track to reach our ambition for all three Rape Review metrics, with the latest figures (Jul – Sep 2022) showing a continued increase in the number of adult rape referrals, charges, and Crown Court receipts:

• There were 999 total police referrals, up by 117% compared to the quarterly average in 2019 (461), when the Rape Review was commissioned.
• There were 473 CPS charges, up by 94% compared to the 2019 quarterly average (244).
• There were 467 Crown Court receipts, up by 102% compared to the 2019 quarterly average (231).

The number of people convicted of an adult rape offence also went up by 65 percent over the past year (from 323 in the year to June 2021 to 532 in the year to June 2022). Compared to the pre-pandemic year, convictions are up by 41 percent (from 377 in the year to June 2019 to 532 in the year to June 2022).

We are continuing to deliver the Action Plan by:

• Launching a new 24/7 support line for victims of rape and sexual abuse on 7 December 2022, meaning every victim can now access free, confidential emotional support whenever and wherever they need it.
• Completed the rollout of pre-recorded cross-examination for victims of sexual and modern slavery offences to all Crown Courts in England and Wales in September 2022. This will spare victims the glare of a live courtroom trial.
• The Police and Crown Prosecution Service are rolling out a new investigatory model for rape, which focuses on the suspect’s - rather than the victim’s - behaviour, called Operation Soteria. This has begun operating across nineteen police forces, with a national rollout ready from June 2023. In December 2022 we published an independent academic report outlining initial findings from the first year of the Operation.
• Announcing the start of a Specialist Sexual Violence Support project in three Crown Courts centres in Leeds, Newcastle, and Snaresbrook London. This project is aimed squarely at doing better by victims; ensuring that they have the support they need at the court stage and get the justice they deserve.
• Introducing a raft of measures to speed up justice for victims and improve their experience in the justice system since the start of the pandemic, including unlimited sitting days, Nightingale courts and increasing Magistrates’ Courts sentencing powers.
• Publishing the response to the Home Office consultation on police requests for third party material on 20 January 2023, which included a commitment to legislate, when Parliamentary time allows, to ensure all police requests, including counselling notes, are necessary and proportionate.
• Recommissioning the Rape and Sexual Abuse Fund, with the grant funding competition opening on 13 January 2023.
• More than quadrupling victims funding by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10, which will enable us to increase the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Abuse Advisors by 300 to over 1,000 – a 43% increase over the next three years.
• Continuing to publish regular iterations of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) Delivery Data Dashboard, previously named the CJS scorecard, to increase transparency, increase understanding of the justice system and support collaboration, particularly at a local level through Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs).
• We have recruited 16,753 officers as part of the Police Uplift Programme as of January 2023 and we are on track to recruit 20,000 by 31 March 2023.
• In the last financial year CPS RASSO units have increased by 20% (from 360 to 433 FTE). The CPS are committed to recruiting an additional 194 RASSO staff in 2022/2023 and have delivered over 100 RASSO legal training courses, attended by over 1000 CPS colleagues.

We regularly publish our progress on delivery of the action plan, through six-monthly progress updates, with the most recent report being published in December 2022. The next report is due to be published in June 2023.