Select committee: Public Services Committee
Police transcription
Open
Opened 29 Jul 2025
Public Services Committee Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Inquiry scope (the committee's words)
Equal access to justice is a cornerstone of our criminal justice system and it is vital that everyone involved at each stage in any criminal case is presented with a fair and accurate account of evidential proceedings. Transcripts are produced by the police and outsourced companies as a public service to the courts. They provide a written record of a police interview with a suspect or witness or to help in understanding unclear audio material. This inquiry will focus on how transcripts are produced, the training and guidance to services that produce transcripts, the standards and quality assurance of transcripts, and their use within court
Where it stands
The inquiry is open, opened 29 July 2025.
The committee has not published a report yet.
Evidence
- 2 oral evidence sessionsLatest 17 September 2025
- 9 witnesses
Recent activity
- Letter to Sarah Jones MP from the Public Services Committee regarding Police transcription2 December 2025, Correspondence
- Oral evidence session17 September 2025, Oral evidence
- Oral evidence session3 September 2025, Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions
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| Date | Session and witnesses | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep 2025 |
Oral evidence session
DI Richard Kempshall · Metropolitan Police,
DS Ben Stephenson · Metropolitan Police,
Fiona Rutherford · Justice,
Harpreet Sandhu KC · The Bar Council,
Sam Skinner KC · Criminal Bar Association,
Superintendent Mark Kenny · Greater Manchester Police
|
View ↗ |
| 3 Sep 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Dr James Tompkinson,
Dr Kate Haworth,
Professor Helen Fraser
|
View ↗ |
Who gave evidence
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| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| DI Richard Kempshall · Detective Inspector | Metropolitan Police | 1 |
| Dr James Tompkinson | Not recorded | 1 |
| Dr Kate Haworth | Not recorded | 1 |
| DS Ben Stephenson · Detective Sergeant | Metropolitan Police | 1 |
| Fiona Rutherford · Chief Executive Officer | Justice | 1 |
| Harpreet Sandhu KC · Representative | The Bar Council | 1 |
| Professor Helen Fraser | Not recorded | 1 |
| Sam Skinner KC · Representative | Criminal Bar Association | 1 |
| Superintendent Mark Kenny · Superintendent | Greater Manchester Police | 1 |
Correspondence
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| Published | Direction | Letter |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Dec 2025 | From committee | Letter to Sarah Jones MP from the Public Services Committee regarding Police transcription |
| 1 Sep 2025 | To committee | Letter from the College of Policing to Baroness Morris of Yardley, Chair of the Public Services Committee (1 September 2025) |