Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures the Government is taking to strengthen public confidence in the prioritisation of tackling violence against women and girls through criminal justice system.

Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government. Our ambition is to halve the levels of these crimes within a decade. To do this we must take steps to reform the police response to VAWG, bring the police closer to the communities they serve and make sure we have the right policing in the right places.

We are committed to strengthening the criminal justice system and empowering victims with specialist support. This includes implementing specialist rape and sexual offence teams in every police force in England and Wales by 2029.

We have established the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP) to provide coordinated leadership on VAWG within policing, ensuring it is treated as a top priority alongside counter terrorism and serious organised crime. Backed by over £13 million of Home Office funding this year, the NCVPP will work with every force across England and Wales to drive consistent practice and support operational improvements through strengthened training for officers, updated national guidance, and targeted support to improve practice.

We are taking decisive action to revive our criminal courts and address long-standing issues that impact victims of VAWG. After commissioning Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an independent review of our criminal courts, on the 25th of February the Government introduced the Courts and Tribunals Bill. The Bill introduces measures to reduce demand on the Crown Court and modernise our court system, to ensure swifter justice for victims including victims of VAWG offences. It introduces a package of crucial reforms protect victims, particularly victims of sexual offences, from unnecessary and intrusive cross-examination about their personal lives at court.