Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken between a defendant being charged and their trial taking place on victims of sexual offences.

Delays in the criminal justice system can have a significant impact on victims of sexual offences. This Government is taking decisive action to revive our criminal court system to reduce delays and the impact they have on all victims, including those of rape and sexual offences.

After commissioning Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an independent review of our criminal courts, on 25 February the Government introduced the Courts and Tribunals Bill. The Bill introduces measures to reduce demand on the Crown Court, protect children and modernise our court system. These measures make a commitment to reduce the Crown Court backlog and get victims their day in court more quickly. The Bill also introduces a package of crucial reforms to protect victims, particularly victims of sexual offences, from unnecessary and intrusive cross-examination about their personal lives at court.

We are supporting victims through record funding for support services, with £550 million over the Spending Review period. Victims of rape are also supported through dedicated Victim Liaison Officers, pre-trial meetings and the introduction of independent legal advisers for victims of adult rape.

Alongside wider support measures, pre-recorded cross-examination (section 28) can help reduce the impact of delays by enabling victims to give evidence earlier. The Ministry of Justice’s 2025 section 28 impact evaluation found that, between January 2019 and September 2022, the measure reduced the time between an alleged offence and cross-examination by around five months.

The judiciary has also published a new national listing framework, which makes explicit for the first time that rape and other sexual offence cases should be prioritised.