Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training is available for judges and barristers to assist them when questioning child witnesses in cases involving sexual offences.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Judicial training is a judicial matter and fulfilled by the Judicial College, which reports to the Lord Chief Justice. Training for barristers is a matter for their own professional bodies.

The Judicial College have advised me that a workshop on the cross examination of vulnerable witnesses is incorporated into their Serious Sexual Offences Seminar. This is mandatory training for all judges who have been authorised to hear cases involving serious sexual offences.