Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the amount of time taken by the Crown Prosecution Service to reach charging decisions in domestic abuse cases.

Tackling domestic abuse is a top priority for the government under our commitment to halve violence against women and girls.

Domestic abuse flagged charging decisions continue to have shorter timeframes than those for crime overall. In 2025/26, the mean average time from referral to charge in domestic abuse flagged cases was 25 days, compared with 44 days across all crime types. The median time from referral to charge was one day, indicating that many charging decisions were made shortly after referral to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). In addition, 74.9% of charging consultations in domestic abuse flagged cases were completed within 28 days, higher than the 71.7% recorded across crime overall.

The CPS continues to work with criminal justice partners to improve the timeliness of charging decisions, particularly in more complex cases where further evidence may be required before a charging decision can be made. Through the CPS and National Police Chiefs’ (NPCC) Council Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan, the CPS is working closely with policing partners through the Pathfinder Programme to strengthen early collaboration between police and prosecutors, improve case quality, and support more timely progression from investigation to charging decision.

Alongside this, the CPS, NPCC and Home Office are currently piloting the Charging Authority Project across England and Wales, enabling the police to charge in select domestic abuse cases and forming part of wider efforts across the criminal justice system to reduce delays and improve the handling of cases. This initiative is being piloted in two CPS Areas, with plans for expansion currently being considered.

These charging initiatives form part of the CPS's objective to strengthen the handling of domestic abuse cases and deliver effective charging decisions, helping victims to access justice sooner while ensuring offenders are held to account.