Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure the (a) integrity and (b) confidentiality of digital evidence in sexual assault cases.

The Government’s Rape Review highlighted the importance of digital forensics and disclosure of digital material in improving our response to sexual offences.

We have legislated to put the Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) and code of practice on a statutory footing. Compliance with the FSR’s code will ensure the integrity of digital evidence presented to the courts, helping to maintain public confidence in our systems.

Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (2022), we introduced a clear statutory basis for requesting devices from victims of crime so that information is only shared with their agreement and where necessary and proportionate and in response to a reasonable line of enquiry. This helps forces to ensure that the high standards of Data Protection Act are met when processing sensitive personal information belonging to victims of crime.

We are also working across the system to ensure that police forces have the technology and capabilities they require. In 23/24, the Home Office invested £8.2m to increase capacity and speed in digital forensics, including supporting selective extraction and examination of data on digital devices to better protect victims from intrusive investigations.

To drive further improvements in the response to sexual offences, we invested £9.4m in Operation Soteria, bringing together police and academics to develop a new national operating model for the investigation of rape which is currently being implemented by all police forces in England and Wales.