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1550769

registered interest
date	14/12/2022
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Disclosure of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to protect the privacy rights of victims of sexual offence cases in a court of law by ensuring the non-disclosure of their counselling records.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	108334
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2022 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>The recent review of Disclosure found that too much third-party material, including victims counselling and therapy notes, were being accessed. The revised Attorney General’s Disclosure Guidelines published in May 2022 addressed this and introduced increased privacy protections for victims. Prior written reasons must be recorded before accessing this material, and access can only occur where it is necessary and proportionate. Pre-trial therapy notes will now only be accessed in the rare circumstances that they are absolutely necessary to a reasonable line of inquiry. This ensures significant protections for victims while maintaining a fair trial.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson question first answered 19/12/2022 10:01:06 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1550771

registered interest
date	12/12/2022
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Victims
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, if her Department will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the scrutiny of counselling records of sexual violence and abuse survivors by the police and Crown Prosecution Service on (a) the reporting of crimes and (b) the uptake of counselling services by those survivors.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	108335
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2022 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>The recent review of Disclosure found that too much third-party material, including victims counselling and therapy notes, were being accessed. The review heard from victims’ groups that this leads to victims facing an impossible decision to either seek justice or seek therapy The revised Attorney General’s Disclosure Guidelines published in May 2022 addressed this and introduced increased privacy protections for victims. Prior written reasons must be recorded before accessing this material, and access can only occur where it is necessary and proportionate.In alignment and simultaneously with the amended Attorney General’s Disclosure Guidance the CPS published guidance on pre-trial therapy for prosecutors and investigators. The guidance opens with the clear and definitive principles that: The health and wellbeing of the victim should always be the determinative factor in whether, when and with whom they seek pre-trial therapy. It is for the victim to make decisions about therapy with their therapist, including what type of therapy is obtained and when that therapy is obtained.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson question first answered 19/12/2022 10:07:13 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1550772

registered interest
date	12/12/2022
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Disclosure of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, with reference to her Department's policy on allowing the police and Crown Prosecution Service to scrutinise counselling records of victims of sexual violence, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a (a) presumption of non-disclosure and (b) requirement that requests for notes could only be made once a suspect had been arrested and charged.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	108336
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2022 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>The requirement to disclose material which might reasonably be considered capable of undermining the case for the prosecution against the accused or of assisting the case for the accused is set by legislation, and not by the Disclosure Guidelines. The revised Attorney General’s Disclosure Guidelines published in May 2022 introduced increased privacy protections for victims in respect of their counselling notes being accessed during the course of a criminal investigation. Prior written reasons must be recorded before accessing counselling notes of victims, and access can only occur where it is necessary and proportionate. The Home Office has also recently concluded a consultation on police requests for personal records (‘third party material’). The response to this consultation and next steps will be published shortly.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson question first answered 19/12/2022 10:19:30 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1550774

registered interest
date	12/12/2022
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Victims
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, whether it is his Department's policy that a victim of sexual assault undertaking (a) police-provided and (b) private counselling is made aware that they can retract any information provided from session notes.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	108337
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2022 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>The revised Attorney General’s Disclosure Guidelines published in May 2022 introduced increased privacy protections for victims in respect of their counselling notes being accessed during the course of a criminal investigation. Prior written reasons must be recorded before accessing counselling notes of victims, and access can only occur where it is necessary and proportionate. Simultaneously with the amended Attorney General’s Disclosure Guidance the CPS published guidance on pre-trial therapy for prosecutors and investigators. The CPS Guidance is clear that prior to approaching a therapist about material relating to the victim that might be relevant to the investigation, the police should seek the agreement of the victim to this approach being made and inform the victim of their right to object at any time to the processing of their personal data which may follow.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson question first answered 19/12/2022 10:20:25 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1550775

registered interest
date	12/12/2022
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Victims
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to only allow the (a) police and (b) Crown Prosecution Service to request scrutiny of counselling records of sexual violence and abuse survivors that relate to a specific offence.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	108338
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2022 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>The revised Attorney General’s Disclosure Guidelines published in May 2022 introduced increased privacy protections for victims in respect of their counselling notes being accessed during the course of a criminal investigation. Prior written reasons must be recorded before accessing counselling notes of victims, and access can only occur where it is necessary and proportionate The CPS guidance on pre-trial therapy for prosecutors and investigators is clear that prior to approaching a therapist about material relating to the victim that might be relevant to the investigation, the police should seek the agreement of the victim to this approach being made and inform the victim of their right to object at any time to the processing of their personal data which may follow. The Home Office has also recently concluded a consultation on police requests for personal records (‘third party material’). The response to this consultation and next steps will be published shortly.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Mid Dorset and North Poole answering member printed Michael Tomlinson question first answered 19/12/2022 10:21:17 answering member 4497 label Biography information for Michael Tomlinson
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel