The Government recognises that the decline in the number of rape and serious sexual offences being charged and prosecuted in England and Wales is a cause for significant concern. That is why we are carrying out an end-to end review of how the Criminal Justice System responds to rape. Through this review we are working with operational partners from across the Criminal Justice system including the police, CPS and victims\u2019 groups to ensure we can improve the way rape cases are dealt with.<\/p>
We welcome the Office of the Victims\u2019 Commissioner\u2019s research and will consider its findings carefully. The Government is intending to publish its initial findings and recommendations for action before the end of the year, and is committed to continuing to work after that publication to make further changes to improve the system in the longer term.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4481", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Alex Chalk"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cheltenham"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Alex Chalk"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-10T17:08:29.76Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Rape: Prosecutions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the recent report by the Office of the Victims\u2019 Commissioner for England and Wales, what steps the Government plans to take to tackle the annual and proportionate decline in the (a) number of rape cases considered by the CPS and (b) conviction rate among those cases since 2016-17.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4764", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Bell Ribeiro-Addy"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Streatham"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Bell Ribeiro-Addy"} ], "uin" : "110250"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247816", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247816/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Rape and sexual abuse are devastating crimes that can have a life-long impact, and the Government is committed to ensuring the victims of these crimes have access to high-quality support services to help them cope and, as far as possible, recover. These services are available to all victims whether or not they report to the police.<\/p>
In 2020/21, the Ministry of Justice awarded £12m to 91 rape support centres across England and Wales to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, an increase of £4m from 2019/20. This includes £1.8m of ringfenced funding for victims of recent and non-recent child sexual abuse.<\/p>
The government has also recently doubled the financial support it provides to national organisations that support victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to £2.4m.<\/p>
The new funding is in addition to the £4.79m provided to Police and Crime Commissioners by the Ministry of Justice to support victims of child sexual abuse (part of the £69m provided this year for them to commission victim support service based on local need).<\/p>
We are committed to ensuring that victims can continue to access such support during the pandemic, and recently announced a £76m package of funding for victims, with £10 million ringfenced to provide support for victims of sexual violence specifically. This has helped fund technology to enable charities to offer services remotely.<\/p>
The Government also recently announced that an additional £4m per annum until 2022 will be invested in recruiting more Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) to help victims feel informed and supported at every stage of their recovery journey. ISVAs provide an important link between police, support services and criminal justice agencies.<\/p>
We will continue to work with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to expose what went wrong in the past and to learn the lessons for the future.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4481", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Alex Chalk"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cheltenham"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Alex Chalk"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-05T16:49:51.777Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Victims: Administration of Justice"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support his Department has given to victims of clerical abuse to access justice.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4846", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Colum Eastwood"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Foyle"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Colum Eastwood"} ], "uin" : "110279"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247891", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247891/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has led the way internationally in continuing justice, restarting jury trials ahead of all other comparable systems.<\/p>
We continue to make significant progress on Criminal Courts Recovery. Since August, magistrates\u2019 courts have been consistently completing more cases than they are receiving, dealing with over 21,000 cases each week and tackling the backlog.<\/p>
In the Crown Court, we are listing over 150 jury trials and conducting thousands of other hearings each week.<\/p>
As part of the Criminal Courts Recovery we have considered adopting different operating hours to maximise HMCTS\u2019 own estate. Magistrates\u2019 courts are already responding flexibly at a local level, and a number of Crown Court buildings are now testing and refining a blended COVID Operating Hours model. It is important to note that COVID Operating Hours would be a time-limited measure and whilst they would mean that our buildings will be open for longer, no one party would be required to attend court for longer.<\/p>
We identified seven Crown Court locations to test and refine the COVID Operating Hours model. We are monitoring the pilots and will assess them all by the end of November before a decision on further implementation is taken.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4503", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Philp"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Croydon South"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Chris Philp"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "110220"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-10T15:44:44.23Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Courts and Tribunals: Coronavirus"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how long he plans to keep in place covid-19 flexible operating hours in courts and tribunals in England and Wales.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4620", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ellie Reeves"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Lewisham West and Penge"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ellie Reeves"} ], "uin" : "110219"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247892", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247892/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has led the way internationally in continuing justice, restarting jury trials ahead of all other comparable systems.<\/p>
We continue to make significant progress on Criminal Courts Recovery. Since August, magistrates\u2019 courts have been consistently completing more cases than they are receiving, dealing with over 21,000 cases each week and tackling the backlog.<\/p>
In the Crown Court, we are listing over 150 jury trials and conducting thousands of other hearings each week.<\/p>
As part of the Criminal Courts Recovery we have considered adopting different operating hours to maximise HMCTS\u2019 own estate. Magistrates\u2019 courts are already responding flexibly at a local level, and a number of Crown Court buildings are now testing and refining a blended COVID Operating Hours model. It is important to note that COVID Operating Hours would be a time-limited measure and whilst they would mean that our buildings will be open for longer, no one party would be required to attend court for longer.<\/p>
We identified seven Crown Court locations to test and refine the COVID Operating Hours model. We are monitoring the pilots and will assess them all by the end of November before a decision on further implementation is taken.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4503", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Philp"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Croydon South"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Chris Philp"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "110219"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-10T15:44:44.323Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Courts and Tribunals: Coronavirus"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the covid-19 flexible operating hours pilots.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4620", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ellie Reeves"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Lewisham West and Penge"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ellie Reeves"} ], "uin" : "110220"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247893", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247893/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
HMCTS publishes quarterly official statistics for the criminal courts here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2020/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2020<\/a>.<\/p> HMCTS also publishes weekly Management Information for all jurisdictions, including the Magistrates\u2019 Court, Crown Court and Employment Tribunal here:<\/p> https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-weekly-management-information-during-coronavirus-march-to-september-2020<\/a>.<\/p> These weekly MI figures reflect the data held on the relevant case management systems and hence have some definitional and timing differences from any official statistics.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4503", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Philp"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Croydon South"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Chris Philp"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "110222"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-10T15:52:00.683Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Trials: Coronavirus"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many jury trials were completed in each of the last six months.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4620", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ellie Reeves"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Lewisham West and Penge"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ellie Reeves"}
], "uin" : "110221"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247894", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247894/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " HMCTS publishes quarterly official statistics for the criminal courts here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2020/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2020<\/a>.<\/p> HMCTS also publishes weekly Management Information for all jurisdictions, including the Magistrates\u2019 Court, Crown Court and Employment Tribunal here:<\/p>