Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from the handling of the Mark Blanco case regarding the operation of the police Victims' Right to Review (VRR) scheme; and whether they will review the arrangements for independent reconsideration of decisions not to investigate further, particularly in serious cases where the original police force has made the decision under review, including the absence of any automatic, written or clearly defined procedure for referral to an external police force.

The Government does not routinely comment on individual cases or operational policing matters. Decisions relating to police investigations, including those made under the Police Victims' Right to Review scheme, are operational matters for policing.