Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Bar Standards Board on requiring advocates who handle sexual abuse cases to undertake appropriate specialist training.

We have begun discussions with the Bar Council, and officials have met with the Bar Standards Board, on the recommendations in the Jeffrey Review of criminal defence advocacy, which include consideration by the profession of a ticketing system for defence advocates, who appear in rape and sexual abuse cases to ensure they have undergone relevant training.