What steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to increase rape conviction rates.

Joint guidance—the first of its kind—for police and prosecutors about investigating and prosecuting rape has been introduced. The Association of Chief Police Officers-Crown Prosecution Service team is visiting all police forces and CPS areas, reinforcing ongoing CPS performance monitoring.

Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that the development of sexual abuse referral centres, such as the one that we now have in Cardiff, in which legal agencies, health and caring professions can all work together, are likely to result in an increase in the conviction rate?

Yes, I agree. In Cleveland, we have a sexual assault referral centre and a system of independent sexual violence advisers who befriend and support complainants. It is imperative that there is good co-operation, as there is in Cleveland, between the police, led by Chief Constable Sean Price and the chair of the police authority, Dave McLuckie, who both ensure that we have a top-quality SARC, and the Crown Prosecution Service, so that rape complainants can have, as it were, all-through support and be passed when necessary from sympathetic hand to sympathetic hand. We have quite good results in Cleveland on relative levels of rape conviction, and my hon. Friend is absolutely right—the way to improve them is to increase the number of SARCs, as we are doing, and to ensure that the good practice in her area and in mine is spread nationally.