Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Deferred
Paragraph: 126
Widen pilot to include legal advice for victims on sexual history applications.
Recommendation
The Government should also consider widening any such pilot so that people would also be able to benefit from legal advice on sexual history applications.
Government Response Summary
The government referred to the CPS Rape Strategy Update and the refresh of the Joint National Action Plan (JNAP), focusing on broader CPS efforts and data, but did not address the recommendation to consider widening a pilot for legal advice on sexual history applications.
Paragraph Reference:
126
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
In February 2022, the CPS published a Rape Strategy Update which details the progress it has made since the publication of its five-year strategy on Rape and Serious Sexual Offences—RASSO 2025—in July 2020, as well as new activities that we have commenced since that publication. The Update included a data section which highlighted the significant work the CPS still has to do, alongside demonstrating that the decline in cases has halted, and is showing slight recent improvements and signs of system recovery. The CPS and NPCC have committed to providing regular updates on progress against key strategies and action plans and are working to refresh the JNAP, which was published in January 2021. This is being delivered using a theory of change methodology to test both operational agencies on the outcomes they are working towards and the impact they want from the programme of work. The refreshed JNAP was soft launched at a joint CPS- NPCC conference on 15 June and be formally published in the Summer. Rape and the Courts