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1717090

registered interest
date	10/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of rape trials were postponed (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three times in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Mitcham and Morden
tabling member printed	Dame Siobhain McDonagh
uin	25624
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 24/05/2024 13:51:20 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
tabling member	193 label Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh

1717091

registered interest
date	10/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials in England and Wales that have been postponed in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Mitcham and Morden
tabling member printed	Dame Siobhain McDonagh
uin	25625
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 24/05/2024 13:52:00 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
tabling member	193 label Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh

1700971

registered interest
date	15/04/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials that have been postponed within 24 hours' notice in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Mitcham and Morden
tabling member printed	Dame Siobhain McDonagh
uin	21519
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>The data held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on ineffective trials does not specifically identify those that have been postponed within 24 hours' notice. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.</p><p>The Government is committed to improving the Criminal Justice System’s response to adult rape.  This includes the significant progress we have made in delivering our Rape Review Action Plan. Within this plan, we set ourselves stretching ambitions to return the volumes of police referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), CPS charges and Crown Court receipts for adult rape to 2016 levels. In practice, this means more than doubling the number of cases reaching court since the Rape Review was commissioned in 2019. We are pleased to say we have already exceeded these ambitions.</p><p>We also recognise that lengthy waiting times can be particularly difficult for victims of rape and other serious sexual offences who wish to see justice done and move on with their lives. The Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales has recently announced that all rape cases outstanding for more than two years will be listed by the end of July 2024, providing certainty to those victims that their cases will be prioritised and heard as soon as possible.</p><p>Alongside the SPJ’s efforts, we continue to make sure we do more than ever to improve timeliness at court. This includes delivering over 107,000 additional sitting days in Crown Courts; opening two permanent ‘super courtrooms’ in Manchester and Loughborough; increasing criminal legal aid spending by £141 million per year; investing over £220 million for essential modernisation and repair work of court buildings (up to March 2025); and investing further in judicial recruitment and retention.</p><p>We know that support services play a critical role in supporting victims including those engaging with the Criminal Justice System. This is why we are quadrupling funding for victims and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10. The funding will allow us to increase the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors to around 1,000 by 2025.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 23/04/2024 16:14:18 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	193 label Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh

1656367

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time was for a rape trial to begin in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	196292
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2023 answer text <p>The average waiting times of defendants dealt with in rape trial cases where a not guilty plea was entered in the Crown Court can be found in the below table with annual data from 2014 to 2022. Data prior to 2014 is not available.</p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Average waiting times (weeks) of defendants dealt with in rape trial cases where a not guilty plea was entered in the Crown Court</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Median</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Mean</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>27.6</p></td><td><p>29.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>28.9</p></td><td><p>31.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>28.0</p></td><td><p>30.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>28.8</p></td><td><p>31.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>29.6</p></td><td><p>32.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>26.7</p></td><td><p>30.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>30.6</p></td><td><p>32.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>41.0</p></td><td><p>44.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>39.7</p></td><td><p>44.4</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Notes:</p><ul><li>Waiting time refers to the time between the date of sending a case to the Crown Court and the start of the substantive Crown Court hearing.</li><li>The number of defendants relate to defendants in the cases that were disposed of in the reporting period.</li><li>Only one offence is counted for each defendant in the case. If there is more than one offence per defendant that complete on the same day, a set of validation rules applies to select one offence only and these relate to the longest duration, seriousness and the lowest sequence number of the offence.</li></ul><p>Despite recent setbacks caused by the pandemic and the criminal barrister strike, we continue to make significant investments that will support the reduction of the caseload in its totality.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 12/09/2023 11:44:13 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1656542

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many rape cases were awaiting trial in the Crown courts in (a) March 2020, (b) March 2021, (c) March 2022 and (d) March 2023.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	196362
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2023 answer text <p>The volume of outstanding ‘for trial’ rape cases at the Crown Court in England and Wales, as at end of March 2020 – 2023 has been provided (as attached).</p><p>‘For trial' cases relates to the case type at the point of receipt into the Crown Court - these are the cases that could go to trial, but they may not necessarily result in a trial (i.e. if a guilty plea is entered).</p><p>The latest published data is available to March 2023 only.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 12/09/2023 11:47:14 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar attachment 1 file name 2023-09-11 PQ 196362 table.xlsx title Volume of outstanding 'for trial' rape cases
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1639687

registered interest
date	23/05/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials in England and Wales that have been postponed in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	186375
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2023 answer text <p>We have interpreted your request as being for ineffective trials, which is where the trial does not commence on the due date and requires rescheduling. This could be due to a variety of reasons, such as the absence of a defendant or a witness or adjournment requests from either the prosecution or defence.</p><p> </p><p>Ineffective trial volumes for rape offences and murder offences at the Crown Court from 2014 to 2022 can be found in the attached table. Information on ineffective trials broken down by offence are not available prior to 2014.</p><p> </p><p>The number of ineffective trial volumes for rape and murder offences significantly increased in 2022; this was primarily due to the Criminal Bar Association action between April and September 2022.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 186372 question first answered 05/06/2023 13:08:28 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer attachment 1 file name 2023-06-05 PQ 186372 186375 table.xlsx title Volume of ineffective trials at the Crown Court
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1639690

registered interest
date	23/05/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials in England and Wales that have been postponed (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three times in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	186452
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2023 answer text <p>We have interpreted your request as being for ineffective trials, which is where the trial does not commence on the due date and requires rescheduling. This could be due to a variety of reasons, such as the absence of a defendant or a witness or adjournment requests from either the prosecution or defence.</p><p>The table below sets out the data held by HMCTS for trials in the Crown Court for the offence of Rape which have been ineffective once, twice, and three times in each from 2015.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Ineffective once</p></td><td><p>Ineffective twice</p></td><td><p>Ineffective three times</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>133</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>142</p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>138</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>120</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>52</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>27</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>82</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>119</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The table below sets out the data held by HMCTS for trials in the Crown Court for the offence of Murder which have been ineffective once, twice, and three times in each from 2015.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Ineffective once</p></td><td><p>Ineffective twice</p></td><td><p>Ineffective three times</p></td><td><p>Ineffective over three times</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>24</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td><td><p>~</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>~ Equates to a value of fewer than 5</p><p>Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.</p><p>Data are taken from a live management information system and can change over time.</p><p>Information on the number of trials which have been ineffective once, twice, and three times are not available prior to 2015. The number of ineffective trial volumes for rape and murder offences significantly increased in 2022. This was primarily due to the Criminal Bar Association action between April and September 2022.</p><p>If a trial date was ineffective more than once in the same year it has been counted for each time.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 186373 question first answered 05/06/2023 13:12:05 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1639694

registered interest
date	23/05/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials in England and Wales that have been postponed within 24 hours' notice in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	186455
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/05/2023 answer text <p>A trial which will no longer take place on the date set aside for it in the court calendar is referred to as a ‘vacated’ trial. This usually happens when one or both parties is not ready to proceed and there is agreement between them that an adjournment would be in order.</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Crown Court: Rape Trials vacated within 24 hours of the trial date</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Vacated Year</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>67</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>76</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>53</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>83</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>41</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available. Data are taken from a live management information system and can change over time.</p><p>Trials vacated because either the prosecution discontinued the case before the trial date or where the defendant changed their plea to guilty to the original charge have been excluded since there was no further need for a trial. Trials vacated because either the prosecution discontinued the case before the trial date or where the defendant changed their plea to guilty to the original charge have been excluded since there was no further need for a trial. If a trial date was vacated more than once in the same year it has been counted for each time.</p><p>We are progressing significant work to improve victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system. We have invested a significant amount of funding, are recruiting up to 1,000 judges across all jurisdictions in 2023/24 and have recently announced the continued use of 24 Nightingale courtrooms into the 2023/24 financial year. We are delivering enhanced specialist sexual violence support in three Crown Court locations and funding Operation Soteria to provide police and prosecutors with new tools to support them to progress cases more effectively.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 31/05/2023 15:12:13 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1626158

registered interest
date	09/05/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the submission of pre-recorded evidence on accusers in rape case trials.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	184054
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2023 answer text <p>On 3 April 2023, the government published a process evaluation of the implementation of pre-recorded cross-examination (section 28) for intimidated witnesses, including survivors of rape and modern slavery (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-section-28-evaluating-the-use-of-pre-recorded-cross-examination-for-intimidated-witnesses" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-section-28-evaluating-the-use-of-pre-recorded-cross-examination-for-intimidated-witnesses</a>). The evaluation explored witness and practitioner views and experiences of section 28 to understand whether the provision was working as intended. The evaluation found that witnesses who used section 28 noted an improved experience compared to giving evidence live at trial.</p><p> </p><p>While we are unable to determine how many rape cases progressed specifically due to the section 28 provision as opposed to other factors, we know that 433 witnesses gave evidence via section 28 in adult rape cases between January 2021 and December 2022.</p><p> </p><p>The section 28 process evaluation did not analyse conviction and acquittal rates. However, MoJ are currently scoping an impact analysis of section 28 which is expected to cover conviction rates.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 184055 question first answered 17/05/2023 10:10:04 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1626159

registered interest
date	09/05/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the submission of pre-recorded evidence in rape trials on the (a) number of such cases brought to court and (b) number of convictions in such cases.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	184055
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2023 answer text <p>On 3 April 2023, the government published a process evaluation of the implementation of pre-recorded cross-examination (section 28) for intimidated witnesses, including survivors of rape and modern slavery (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-section-28-evaluating-the-use-of-pre-recorded-cross-examination-for-intimidated-witnesses" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-section-28-evaluating-the-use-of-pre-recorded-cross-examination-for-intimidated-witnesses</a>). The evaluation explored witness and practitioner views and experiences of section 28 to understand whether the provision was working as intended. The evaluation found that witnesses who used section 28 noted an improved experience compared to giving evidence live at trial.</p><p> </p><p>While we are unable to determine how many rape cases progressed specifically due to the section 28 provision as opposed to other factors, we know that 433 witnesses gave evidence via section 28 in adult rape cases between January 2021 and December 2022.</p><p> </p><p>The section 28 process evaluation did not analyse conviction and acquittal rates. However, MoJ are currently scoping an impact analysis of section 28 which is expected to cover conviction rates.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 184054 question first answered 17/05/2023 10:10:04 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord