Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Victims of rape and serious sexual offences are facing unacceptable delays to justice that compound...
Recommendation
Victims of rape and serious sexual offences are facing unacceptable delays to justice that compound and extend their suffering and lead to too many cases collapsing. The number of such cases waiting longer than a year has increased by more than 400% since the onset of the pandemic. As victims are made to wait longer for their cases to be heard, their lives are put on hold and their trauma is prolonged. As waiting times increase, so does the risk the victim withdraws from the process and the case collapses. While the proportion of cases collapsing in the courts in this way has reduced recently, the scale of victim attrition in other stages of the criminal justice process is unacceptably high. We are encouraged that the Department is putting more money into victim support services, doubling investment from £92 million in 2019–20 to £185 million by 2024–25. It also has plans to increase the number of independent sexual violence advisors (ISVAs), whose support to victims halves the likelihood of a victim withdrawing from the process. In June 2021, the Department set out a range of other actions it would take in its end-to-end rape review, and published a progress update in December 2021, but cannot yet say what impact these actions are having on the number of rape and serious sexual offence cases waiting in the backlog. Recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response, the Department should set out its plan to assess the impact of its measures to support victims of rape and serious sexual offences and its progress on recruiting ISVAs.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2024 2.2 Since publishing the End-to-End Rape Review Report on Findings and Actions in June 2021, the government has made significant progress in delivering actions to support victims of rape and serious sexual offences. In December 2021, the government published the first progress report and ‘scorecard’ on adult rape cases. The progress report sets out the progress made since publication and includes key actions for the next six months. 2.3 On 25 March 2022, the government published the first local scorecards which will allow monitoring of both local and regional progress, generate insights into local disparities, and enable the sharing of best practice to help local criminal justice agencies drive improvement. The government will continue to use the scorecard and progress report to increase public transparency, support local collaboration and monitor progress on the ambition to more than double the number of adult rape cases reaching court by the end of this parliament. 2.4 In addition, following the commitment to increase the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisers funded by the Ministry of Justice from 700 to 1,000 by 2024- 25, the department has started the recruitment process for these additional posts. To date, this includes working with Police and Crime Commissioners to establish an up-to-date picture of local need. The department will continue to report its progress on recruiting Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisers through the Rape Review Progress Updates. The department has also recently consulted on the Victim’s Bill, including reviewing what more can be done to strengthen victim advocate roles such as Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisers, reviewing join-up across agencies, standards, guidance and frameworks.