Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of (a) rape and (b) sexual violence cases that are withdrawn at the police stage before referral to the Crown Prosecution Service; and what support is available to victims to help them continue with their cases.

We recognise the devastating impact sexual violence can have. The Government is absolutely committed to tackling rape and sexual offences and achieving the best possible outcome for victims.

The level of cases closing due to the victim withdrawing support for the investigation remains stubbornly high, with over 40% of closed sexual offence investigations in the year ending March 2025 ending this way. The figure is higher for rape cases, rising to 55% of closed cases.

The Home Office has invested £13.1 million to establish a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP) to improve the police response to violence against women and girls and child sexual abuse. The NCVPP is continuing to drive forward the transformational work of Operation Soteria, ensuring officers build the strongest possible, suspect-focused cases. It is vitally important that every police force has the specialist capability necessary to support victims of rape and sexual violence and bring perpetrators to justice. The Centre will also support the development of strengthened specialist training for officers across the country ensuring they offer consistent protection for victims and relentlessly pursue these vile crimes.