Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to provide additional funding to help facilitate the hearing of the longest-delayed rape cases; and what steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times for criminal trials.

We remain committed to addressing the outstanding caseload at the Crown Court and have introduced a raft of measures to speed up justice for victims, such as recruiting up to 1,000 Crown Court judges and tribunal members this financial year, continuing the use of 20 Nightingale courtrooms to increase the capacity of our courts system, and increasing the fees paid to defence and prosecution lawyers by 15% in recognition of the essential work they do in facilitating the administration of justice.

As a result of the growth in the outstanding caseload during Covid and the subsequent Criminal Bar Association action, we recognise that there are some cases in the outstanding caseload which are taking longer to progress through the system. While the judiciary already look to prioritise cases involving vulnerable victims and witnesses, the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales announced on 6 March 2024 that around 181 rape cases which have been outstanding for more than two years will be listed by the end of July 2024, demonstrating a renewed commitment to tackling the toughest cases still awaiting trial.

Alongside this, we are doing more than ever to support victims throughout their criminal justice journey, introducing our 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line, quadrupling victim support funding by 2024/25 compared to 2010, and increasing the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors (ISVAs and IDVAs) to around 1,000 by 2024/25.