Earlier this week (6 July 2026), the CPS announced that they will be expanding a pilot scheme enabling survivors of rape and serious sexual assault who face their cases being dropped by prosecutors the opportunity to challenge this decision.
Rape Crisis England & Wales have long called for this change, including within our recommendations for the previous government’s 2021 Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy.
Currently, when the CPS decide to “offer no evidence” in a criminal case, it is subsequently closed and cannot be reopened - even if a Victims Right to Review (VRR) process later finds that the case should not have been dropped.
If the CPS decision later turns out to be incorrect, survivors are offered only an explanation or apology, with no opportunity to have their case reinstated. This draconian measure has for too long hindered the fair and proper administration of justice; denying survivors a vital opportunity to have their voices heard at a key stage of the criminal justice process, and leaving perpetrators free to offend again.
Under plans announced this week, survivors of rape and serious sexual offences across all of England and Wales will now be able to benefit from the CPS’s Expedited VRR pilot scheme, which was launched in the West Midlands in June 2025. The pilot was later expanded to CPS North West, Yorkshire and Humberside and Cymru-Wales. Across these four pilot areas, 28 survivors have subsequently been offered a review, with 2 seeing their decisions overturned.
This means that, from 13 July 2026, eligible survivors will now be able to request a second opinion from a different prosecutor before the CPS formally and irreversibly drops the charges in court. If the second prosecutor concludes that the evidential and public interest tests are met, the case will continue.
It is hoped that the wider national rollout will enable prosecutors to gather more evidence to evaluate whether this approach should become a standard part of the current VRR scheme for rape survivors – something we strongly believe it should.
We welcome the CPS’s decision to extend the pilot scheme and are pleased to see this government taking meaningful steps forward to ensure greater transparency and accountability in our criminal justice system, and ensuring survivors’ voices are heard within it.