Lord Wigley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that the recommendation by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate in its Thematic Review of the CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Units that all lawyers working at Rape and Serious Sexual Offences units undergo refresher training is implemented.

Lord Keen of Elie

Ensuring that staff have the tools and skills necessary to prosecute effectively is a CPS priority. A detailed CPS/Police Joint National Rape Action Plan was published in June 2014 which identified a programme of training activity to deliver improvements in investigation and prosecution outcomes. This extensive programme, consisting of a range of face to face specialist training, is currently underway. The programme includes refresher training for all specialist prosecutors undertaking rape and serious sexual offence casework which will be delivered during 2016.