Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 36
36
Acknowledged
Work with judiciary to guarantee fixtures for all rape and serious sexual offence trials.
Recommendation
We urge the Government to work with the judiciary to explore what more could be done to ensure fixtures for all rape and serious sexual offence trials are guaranteed. This would help address the severe delays many complainants and defendants are affected by. (Paragraph 175) Investigation and prosecution of rape 83
Government Response Summary
The government is committed to working with the judiciary to reduce delays, noting that judges prioritize vulnerable cases and aim to provide fixed trial dates for serious sex cases wherever possible, while highlighting that case allocation remains a judicial responsibility.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government is committed to working with the judiciary, including to overcome challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has created for all users of the justice system, including those for whom access to justice has been delayed. We continue to work to reduce the length of time victims and witnesses wait for their cases to be heard. The allocation and listing of cases are judicial responsibilities. Judges continue to work to prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses (including youth cases), domestic abuse and serious sex cases, as well as custody time limit cases. The judiciary also try to avoid ‘floating’ rape and serious sexual offence cases in the list and instead give them fixed trial dates wherever possible. We are launching pilots of enhanced specialist sexual violence support in the Crown Courts at Leeds, Newcastle, and Snaresbrook in London with the aim of improving the support on offer in court for victims of rape and sexual violence. Working closely with the police, CPS and judiciary, we will also look to use learning from the pilots to identify ways of tackling the backlog and improving case throughput so that cases come to court as quickly as possible. These pilot locations have been selected because they are currently dealing with a higher- than-average number of sex offence cases, higher backlog and have important facilities available including section 28.