Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total cost to the public purse was of the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Free Sentencing Remarks Pilot between its introduction in May 2024 and its conclusion in May 2025.

In May 2024, the Ministry of Justice launched a pilot allowing victims of rape and other sexual offences to apply for a free transcript of the judge's sentencing remarks in their Crown Court cases. The pilot ran between May 2024 and May 2025, and the total cost of delivering the pilot was £41,423.83.

Following the pilot, the Government confirmed in May 2025 that victims of rape and sexual offences whose cases were heard at the Crown Court would continue to be able to request free sentencing remark transcripts, helping victims better understand the outcome of their case and the reasons for the sentence imposed.