Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve conviction rates for rape and sexual assault offences.

In June 2021, in response to falling rates of prosecutions in rape and serious sexual offence cases and concerns around victims feeling they are not able to pursue their case, this government published the end-to-end Rape Review report and action plan.

The Action Plan sets out transformative action across the Criminal Justice System to address the reasons for the decrease in prosecutions since 2016 across four areas:

• Holding each part of the Criminal Justice System accountable for driving improvement through publication of transparent performance metrics (e.g. on timeliness and quality of cases) and improved governance through a ministerial-chaired taskforce with specific responsibility for implementation of the Rape Review action plan;
• Providing quality support to every victim of rape and sexual assault, which is appropriate to their needs, when they need it;
• Transforming the way the police and CPS investigate and prosecute cases by focusing investigations on the behaviour of the suspect rather than the behaviour of the victim; and
• Improving the victim’s experience of court, without compromising the principle of a fair trial, by reviewing the use of evidence presented in court and ensuring consistent practice in courts across the country.