Written questions by Pearce.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Victims’ Right to Review scheme pilot on victims of rape and serious sexual offences.

I recently announced the extension of the Victims Right to Review scheme beyond the West Midlands to the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, and Wales. I am carefully reviewing the impact of the pilot scheme ahead of decisions on a potential further rollout.Under the scheme victims of rape now have the right for their case to be considered by a second prosecutor, before a final decision is taken to drop the case.This gives victims more of a voice in their cases, and a second chance at justice.

What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates in cases of violence against women and girls.

This government is committed to halving violence against women and girls. This is my numberone priority as Solicitor General. The CPS’s focus on tackling VAWG is driving an increase in charges across a range of VAWGoffences. For adult rape prosecution, the CPS continues to transform its approach through theimplementation of their National Operating Model, based on robust academic evidence fromOperation Soteria. Through this work, there has been substantial increases in referral, charge,and prosecution volumes for adult rape. Similarly for Domestic Abuse (DA), the CPS and NPCC launched the DA Joint Justice Plan inNovember 2024 with the aim to improve partnership working between investigators andprosecutors, and over the last year this has led to increases in charge volumes by 10% andconviction volumes by 7%. To address the increasing complexity of VAWG offending, and holistic needs of victims, work isongoing to deliver the activities within the CPS’s VAWG Strategy for 2025-2030. This will ensurethat prosecutors have the right skills and tools to prosecute VAWG effectively leading to a positiveimpact on prosecution rates.