Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many persons convicted of rape have received a sentence of less than (a) five, (b) seven and (c) 10 years imprisonment in each of the last 10 years.

The Ministry of Justice has published information on prosecutions and convictions for rape and offences in England and Wales, up to December 2020, available in the ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987715/outcomes-by-offence-2020.xlsx

In order to isolate rape offences, type ‘rape’ into the ‘Offence’ filter and select all results that appear (19C-19H). Rows 55 to 77 will display a range of values based on sentence lengths.

Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes that have a long-lasting impact on victims. Provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, currently before Parliament, will ensure that all serious sexual offenders, including those convicted of rape, will be required to serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison if given a standard determinate sentence of more than 4 years.

It is regrettable that you voted against this.