A Bill to require the Secretary of State to remove the discretionary decision-making power afforded to police officers in charging individuals with rape in cases relating to acts of sexual intercourse involving persons aged under 16; and for connected purposes.
House of Commons
30 March 2015
May contain errors — check source documents for definitive information.
The Bill would remove the police’s discretion to decide whether to charge someone with rape in cases where the sexual act involved a person under 16. It would require the Secretary of State to implement a charging rule for these cases, with the aim of protecting children and ensuring consistent charging decisions by police and prosecutors.
The bill is currently at the 2nd Reading in the Commons; the record only shows the initial readings and does not indicate further stages.
Generated 21 February 2026
25 Mar 2015
This Bill was presented to Parliament on 25 March 2015. This is known as the first reading and there was no debate on the Bill at this stage.
The 2014-15 session of Parliament has prorogued and this Bill will make no further progress.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
