Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of reported rape cases were not passed to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police forces of England and Wales in 2017-18.

The Government does not hold data on the total number of reported rape cases which are not passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police.

The Crown Prosecution Service publishes data on the number of pre-charge decisions for rape cases.

The Government expects every report of sexual violence and rape to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure and continues to work with the police to look at ways to improve police investigations. Through the refreshed Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy we have committed to undertake an end-to-end review into the criminal justice response to rape, from the point of police report through to final outcome in court, which will include examining police referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision.