Question to the Attorney General:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of cases in which the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS's) decisions not to initiate prosecutions in cases of domestic violence have been successfully challenged, whether they will commission an inquiry into the policy and practice of the CPS in relation to that issue.

Victims of domestic abuse can challenge a CPS decision not to prosecute their case, under the Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) scheme. In 2015-16, the CPS made 41,503 decisions in domestic abuse cases. 520 of these cases were appealed through the VRR scheme; 49 of which were upheld. Of the total number of domestic abuse decisions, the upheld rate was 0.12%. Of the number of domestic abuse VRR appeals, the upheld rate was 9.4%. An inquiry is not required because these volumes and proportions are small and the CPS is, in the majority of domestic abuse cases, accurate in its decision making.