Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Ann Cryer (Labour). It was answered by Vera Baird (Labour) on Thursday, 21 January 2010 on behalf of the Solicitor General.

Rape Cases (Prosecution)

Question: What steps she is taking to increase the rate of prosecution in rape cases.

Answer: Steps that we have already taken have led to reports of rape to the police more than doubling in the past 10 years, and there has been a 50 per cent. increase in the number of convictions. We have set up a cross-governmental rape monitoring group, and there is a body continually going around areas of criminal justice to spread best practice from one place through all the others. We have commissioned Baroness Stern specifically to review the response of public authorities to rape, and she will report in February.

Secondary information