Question to the Attorney General:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions the Attorney General has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding trials where the prosecution has ceased to prosecute rape cases in recent months; and how many rape cases have been discontinued in court due to a failure to disclose evidence in the last three months.

The Attorney General has frequent discussions with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on a range of issues relating to the prosecution of rape and sexual offending.

This month the DPP is bringing together partners from across the criminal justice system to discuss the challenges of satisfying the statutory disclosure test in the digital age.

More broadly, the Attorney General has also announced that he is undertaking a review of disclosure in the criminal justice system to ensure it is fit for purpose.

There are a number of reasons why a rape prosecution may not be continued with. Internal CPS case outcome recording data for 2016-17 shows that issues connected to the disclosure of unused material were recorded as the primary reason for 2% of the rape prosecutions that were subsequently not proceeded with after charge. More recent data are not currently available.