Early Victims’ Right to Review: Rape and Serious Sexual Offences
House of Commons · Written Statements · 6 Jul 2026 · 1 speech · Official Report
The Government are committed to improving victims’ confidence in the criminal justice system and ensuring that victims’ voices are heard throughout the prosecution process. Today, I am pleased to announce that, following successful testing in four Crown Prosecution Service areas since summer 2025, this new, early review-called the “early victims’ right to review”-will be extended across England and Wales from 13 July 2026 for victims of rape and serious sexual offences. Under the current victims’ right to review scheme, victims may request a review of certain CPS decisions after a case has concluded. However, where a prosecutor formally offers no evidence and proceedings are brought to an end, the prosecution cannot be restarted, even if a reviewing prosecutor subsequently reaches a different conclusion. To address this, the CPS is piloting a new approach in RASSO cases. Where a prosecutor proposes to offer no evidence, victims will be notified before the decision becomes final and given the opportunity to request a review at that stage. If the reviewing prosecutor reaches a different conclusion, the prosecution will be able to continue. This provides an important opportunity that is not available once proceedings have formally ended under the current arrangements. Once a victim has been told by a prosecutor about a proposed decision to end their case, the victim can decide if they want a further review by an independent prosecutor. To ensure certainty for victims and...