Guidance

Policy summary of the outcomes of the free sentencing remarks transcript pilot for victims of rape and sexual offences

Published 6 October 2026

Applies to England and Wales

In May 2024, the Ministry of Justice launched a pilot allowing victims of rape and other sexual offences to apply for a free transcript of the judge’s sentencing remarks in their Crown Court cases.

In May 2025, following the pilot, the government confirmed through the then Lord Chancellor’s statement to Parliament on the Independent Sentencing Review that victims of rape and sexual offences would continue to be able to request free sentencing remarks transcripts.

This summary draws on HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) operational data and a voluntary online survey of victims and third parties who participated in the original pilot.

Applications

Between May 2024 and May 2025, HMCTS received 585 applications for free sentencing remarks transcripts under the pilot. HMCTS provided 345 transcripts.

Around 40% of applications were ineligible. Common reasons included:

• the sentencing hearing taking place before 2012 meaning recordings were not consistently available
• the applicant not being the victim or someone applying on the victim’s behalf
• the offence falling outside the scope of the pilot^{[footnote 1]}
• the applicant did not provide enough information to confirm eligibility
• the case was outside the scope of the pilot, for example because the defendant was found not guilty or the case was heard in a magistrates’ court.

Applications increased over the course of the pilot and reached their highest level in the final month.

Survey responses

Analysis of the survey included 69 responses^{[footnote 2]}. 50 responses came directly from victims and 19 came from third parties, including Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs), family members and other professionals.

User experience

“I now work with survivors of sexual violence so knowing the ease of applying for sentencing remarks is useful to know and have let my organisation know this.” - Female, aged 45 to 54

61 of 69 respondents chose to submit their application online^{[footnote 3]}.

Feedback on the application process was generally positive. 58 of 64 respondents who answered this question rated the process overall as good or very good. All third-party respondents who answered this question gave a positive rating.

“Empowering, supportive and vindicating.” - ISVA

Victims reported several reasons for wanting a transcript, including validation, empowerment and healing, as well as gaining information and understanding.

“I understood everything included, the judge was very clear. I think for some people, depending on the language used, additional information may be useful to explain legal terms for example.” - Female, aged 35 to 44

38 of 44 victim respondents who answered the question said that they found the sentencing remarks easy to understand.

When asked whether additional information would have helped them understand the remarks, respondents suggested:

• explanations of legal terms
• information about the sentencing guidelines or legislation underpinning the sentence
• information about what happens after sentencing

“The judge’s remarks were really impactful, and I finally felt like someone in the criminal justice system had really heard me and understood what happened to me, so I wanted to be able to remind myself of that.” - Female, aged 25 to 34

23 of 50 victim respondents agreed or strongly agreed that receiving the transcript had a positive impact on their ability to cope and build resilience. 13 neither agreed nor disagreed, 7 disagreed or strongly disagreed, 1 preferred not to say and 6 respondents did not answer the question.

20 of 50 victim respondents said they felt sufficiently supported and prepared when reading the transcript of the remarks in their case once they received it. 9 said they did not feel sufficiently supported, 10 were unsure and 1 preferred not to answer. 8 respondents did not answer the question and 2 selected the “other” response option.

After reading the transcript, 18 victim respondents did not seek any support. 16 sought informal support, such as speaking to friends or family. 10 sought formal support, including support from an ISVA or advocate. 6 respondents did not answer the question.

11 of 50 victim respondents said the experience made them more likely to report a crime in future. 25 reported no change, 3 said they would be less likely to report a crime, 2 preferred not to say, and 3 were unsure. 6 respondents did not answer the question.

Affordability

Among the victim respondents, 7 said they would pay for a transcript of the sentencing remarks in their case, while 9 said they would not be willing or able to pay. 26 said it would depend on the cost. An additional 2 said they did not know or were not sure, and 6 respondents did not answer the question.

Among the 33 victim respondents who indicated that they might be willing to pay, most said they would pay a maximum of between £0 and £20. No respondent said they would be willing to pay more than £100.

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1. Rape and sexual offences in England and Wales where the case was heard in the Crown Court.   ↩

2. The survey received 101 responses in total, made up of 74 complete responses and 27 partial responses. However, not all responses were suitable for analysis. 11 responses were excluded because the respondent did not meet the research criteria (for example they didn’t tick the consent to participate box, were under 18, had applied outside the pilot period, or had not actually applied for/received a transcript through the pilot). And the other 21 responses had less than 50% of the survey questions answered and were therefore not included in the analysis. This left 63 valid complete responses, plus 6 valid partial responses (where more than 50% of the survey was answered) meaning 69 in total survey responses were included in the analysis. ↩

3. 6 reported using the postal form. The remainder of respondents (2) did not specify which method they used. ↩