Written question asked by Claire Curtis-Thomas (Labour) on Tuesday, 2 November 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 15 November 2004. It was answered by Paul Goggins (Labour) on Monday, 15 November 2004 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidelines have been issued on best practice in interviewing techniques for sex offence victims; what checks are in place to ensure that these techniques are used; and what estimate has been made of the percentage of interviews which deviate from this standard.

Answer: Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines have been issued on best practice in interviewing techniques for sex offence victims; what checks are in place to ensure that these techniques are used; and what estimate has been made of the percentage of interviews which deviate from this standard. [196641] Paul Goggins: Guidance on interviewing vulnerable or intimidated witnesses, which includes victims of sexual offences, is contained in "Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance for Vulnerable or Intimidated Witnesses, including Children" issued in January 2002. This guidance became operational in May 2002 when it superseded "Memorandum of Good Practice on Video Recorded Interviews with Child Witnesses for Criminal Proceedings". While this guidance is advisory and does not constitute a legally enforceable code of conduct, it warns that significant departures from the guidance may have to be justified in the courts. It is a responsibility of statutory agencies involved in the interviewing of witnesses in criminal proceedings to ensure that appropriate techniques are used. Information about the percentage of interviews which deviate from standard is not held centrally and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Secondary information