Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many rape trials in England and Wales have been postponed (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three times in each of the last three years.

The Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted trial effectiveness, as the various participants in the trial process were not always able to attend court. HMCTS continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had in particularly on trial effectiveness. We have removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit in the 21/22 financial year. In the next financial year, we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases than we did pre-Covid. We have also increased the number of Crown courtrooms available for use compared to pre-pandemic levels.

(PQ 131200) The table below sets out the data held by HMCTS for trials in the Crown Court for the offence of Rape which have been ineffective once, twice, and three times in each of the last three years.

• ~ Equates to a value of fewer than 5
• Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.
• Internal Data taken from a live management information system and can change over time.
• A trial is ineffective if it does not go ahead on the trial date due to action or inaction by the prosecution, the defence or the court and further listing for trial is required.
• Data from April-19 is derived from the XHIBIT case management system. Data prior to this is derived from the CREST case management system

(PQ 131201) The table below sets out the data held by HMCTS for trials in the Crown Court for the offence of Rape which have been vacated at one day’s notice in each of the last three years.

• Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.
• *We are unable to confirm if these cases were postponed or if there was no requirement to refix.
• Internal Data taken from a live management information system and can change over time.
• Data from April-19 is derived from the XHIBIT case management system. Data prior to this is derived from the CREST case management system. Reasons for vacated trial were held in free text fields in Xhibit.
• When a trial is vacated it means that it will no longer take place on the date set aside for it in the court calendar. This usually happens when one or both of the parties is not ready to proceed and there is agreement between them both that an adjournment would be in order.

Our Rape Review Action Plan sets out clear measures such as the first ever adult rape scorecards. The scorecard will provide a tool for us to monitor performance and will allow us to understand any barriers to progress and address them more effectively.