Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution

Thursday 19 June 2025 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial action includes piloting a victims' right to review scheme in the west midlands to allow victims of rape and serious sexual violence to challenge prosecutors' decisions.
  • Katie White, a Leeds Women's Aid ambassador, welcomed proposed changes to the victims' right to review scheme, aiming to give victims more influence over their cases.
  • Joe Robertson requested a meeting with the Solicitor General to discuss challenges in prosecuting violent crimes against women and girls, particularly regarding the new spiking law.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Catherine Fookes Lab Monmouthshire
Justice & Courts NHS
Context

The MP raised concerns about the waiting times victims face after reporting rape to the police, with average completion times of two years in court.

Question

I was glad to hear, after I raised this matter for the first time in November, of the launch of the west midlands pilot of the victims’ right to review scheme, which will give victims of rape and serious sexual violence an opportunity to challenge a prosecutor’s decision to drop their case. However, too many victims have already waited a huge amount of time to get any opportunity for justice, including those in my constituency of Monmouthshire. After being reported to the police, adult rape cases take an average of two years to complete in court. What work are the Government doing to reduce those waiting times?

Answer from The Solicitor General (Lucy Rigby)

My hon. Friend raises a very important issue. I know from meeting rape charities, and indeed from meeting CPS units right across the country, how long waits for justice harm victims and sometimes mean that they drop out of cases altogether. The Government and the CPS are taking action to reduce delays, including by increasing the number of Crown court sitting days and the number of counsel available to prosecute rape and serious sexual assault cases.

Answered
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Q2 Katie White Lab Leeds North West
Justice & Courts
Context

The MP welcomed the proposed changes to the victims’ right to review scheme being piloted, which aims to empower victims by offering them a review prior to a decision to offer no evidence.

Question

I declare that I am an ambassador for Leeds Women’s Aid. I welcome, as do my constituents in Leeds North West, the proposed changes to the victims’ right to review scheme that are being piloted, which will give victims a greater say in their cases. Will the Solicitor General outline the specific way in which those changes will help victims and what the impacts will be?

Answer from The Solicitor General (Lucy Rigby)

My hon. Friend raises an important issue. The victims’ right to review scheme is an important pillar of the criminal justice system. Through the CPS pilot scheme to offer victims a review prior to a decision to offer no evidence, victims will be empowered to challenge more decisions. That is likely to lead to better decision making, more victims staying in the system and, ultimately, more offenders being put behind bars.

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Q3 Joe Robertson Con Isle of Wight East
Crime & Law Enforcement Women & Equalities
Context

The MP was unsuccessful in trying to amend the Government’s proposed new spiking law to ensure that reckless spiking is an offence.

Question

Earlier this week, I was unsuccessful in trying to amend the Government’s proposed new spiking law to ensure that reckless spiking is an offence. Will the Solicitor General meet me to discuss the challenges of prosecuting violent crime towards women and girls if the Government are unpersuaded to ensure that reckless spiking becomes illegal?

Answer from The Solicitor General (Lucy Rigby)

I am more than happy to meet the hon. Member to discuss that issue. He will be pleased to know—indeed, he may well already know—that we introduced a new offence for spiking and that we have included new spiking training for up to 10,000 staff in the night-time economy to ensure they have the skills to support victims and prevent such incidents.

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Q4 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Crime & Law Enforcement Children & Families
Context

The MP raised concerns about the need for support for children who have witnessed and been traumatised by domestic abuse.

Question

Will the Solicitor General outline what support there is for the families of domestic abuse victims—specifically children who have witnessed and been traumatised by that abuse and who need support, which would also enable their parents to feel more confident in continuing their legal cases?

Answer from The Solicitor General (Lucy Rigby)

The hon. Member raises a very important issue. It is incredibly important that victims of abuse of any kind, and especially children, are supported through the criminal justice system, both by police and then by the CPS.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific support mechanisms for affected children were not detailed

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