Naomi Long
East Belfast · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Underneath the Facebook posts to say that he had passed away, people speculated with such comments as, "Probably high on drugs", "Probably drunk", and, "Typical boy racer". There was all of that speculation. It was hurtful to the family, and it was inaccurate.”
“There are circumstances that we need to consider and be careful of. I was told, for example, that, when the issue of good character references at trial was being looked at in New South Wales — Committee members may wish to look at this for themselves — one of the groups that opposed their removal was representative of domestic abuse victi…”
“It sets out the strategic direction adopted by the Department and key partners to tackle those appalling crimes and protect vulnerable victims of exploitation.”
“The provision seeks to provide protection, via legal advice and representation for complainants, against the use of non-relevant personal material and evidence of previous sexual history being used in the court process.”
“<BR /> <BR />On the wider issue of ensuring that a withdrawal of services never happens again, I think that most of us agree that, although everyone has the right to take industrial action, no one has the right to derail and hold to ransom the entire justice system in that way.”
“Those measures will go some way towards helping to support complainants and enable them to have input into the decision-making process about what records containing their personal and sensitive information are required to be shared with the defence.”
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“<BR /> <BR />Furthermore, it is addressing several environmental initiatives across the prison estate, working with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the RSPB, the Woodland Trust and conservation specialists to protect endangered species and flora and fauna. That has included the creation of a tree nursery at Magilligan to supply native tree species, which is nationally important for biosecurity.”
“The Prison Service has demonstrated a real commitment to delivering on a wide range of sustainability and climate initiatives. It has progressed a wide range of energy-efficiency measures over a number of years that has seen it reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by an impressive 44% from a 2016 baseline. That has been achieved through the installation of energy monitoring and targeting software used in conjunction with upgraded building energy management systems, LED lighting upgrades, the installation of a solar farm and small-scale photovoltaic (PV) project, the upgrading of heating systems and the recent conversion of a number of diesel vehicles to sustainable hydro-treated vegetable oil fuel.”
“Our presumption was, however, that it would remain under 24-hour security, as had been the case when DAERA and the Department of Justice were present. We are now working through that to ensure that it is the case until we find an alternative location in which to store the materials that we have there.”
“I can give the Member my assurance that no sensitive information has been able to be accessed at any time. I can give that assurance not because I am assured about access to the building but because I am assured about access to the information, how it is held within the building and how it has been secured. We are doing a review of that now, given the incursions that there have been over the last week. There is no risk to the information that has been held in Dundonald House. <BR /> <BR />When it comes to the security of the building, as I said, DAERA had the premises officer responsibility for the building, and, I think, the assumption was that it had passed that to the Department of Finance to resolve when it exited the building.”
“For obvious reasons, I do not want to explain in public that use in any detail, but I can be absolutely clear that no sensitive or personal information has been compromised during those forays into the building. The Northern Ireland Prison Service is liaising with the PSNI, the Department of Finance, which manages the Stormont estate, and DAERA, which has premises officer responsibility for the building. We should have a reasonable expectation that all government buildings, particularly those on the estate, are protected and secure from this kind of activity. I am sure that Members will support me in condemning the actions of a few people who do not respect the boundaries of acceptable behaviour and the law.”
“There have been a number of such incidents, including unauthorised access to Dundonald House, which began on Sunday 16 March. The apparent intent has been to create social media content about the building and its environs. However, the individuals concerned have also engaged in destructive and antisocial behaviour. <BR /> <BR />Whilst Dundonald House has been largely vacated since June 2023 as a result of health and safety concerns, it remains a government asset within the Stormont estate and has a category B listing due to its unique architectural features. It is not open to, or safe for, the public to access, and any unauthorised access will be reported to the PSNI. <BR /> <BR />While the Prison Service relocated its headquarters to a new location, some areas of Dundonald House remain in limited use.”
“It is entirely appropriate that we use whatever evidence we have from any reports that we have developed. That is a given. However, as I said to the Member, I do not have a publication date, so I will have to respond to him in writing.”
“I cannot answer that question today as I do not have the details at my fingertips. I am happy to write to the Member with the details that he has requested.”
“Those positive evaluation reports, and hearing from victims about how important it is to have access to legal advice, helped inform my decision, in November 2024, to extend the pilot for a further two years until March 2027 and to launch a new children’s service in February 2025.”
“It found that the main benefits to SOLA service users were enhanced communication and understanding of the legal process; victims being kept up to date and involved with the process; a lowering of early attrition rates and disengagement; increased confidence and a voice in the process; and the provision of an avenue of support and reassurance. <BR /> <BR />In 2022, my Department established a SOLA monitoring and evaluation group, which meets quarterly to analyse scheme uptake, user data and user feedback. That ongoing evaluation continues to support the earlier findings. Many victims who have used the service say that, without a SOLA, they would not have continued with their cases. Others have said that having the support of a SOLA gave them a voice in the justice system.”
“The sexual offences legal adviser scheme has had, and continues to have, an overwhelmingly positive impact for victims in serious sexual offence cases. The SOLA service, which is funded by my Department and delivered by solicitors who are employed by Victim Support NI, has provided free, independent legal advice to 2,000 victims since its launch in April 2021. Victims have told me directly how valuable access to such advice has been. <BR /> <BR />A high-level evaluation, conducted after the first year of the pilot, found that stakeholders largely agreed that the pilot was meeting its objective to improve the experience of complainants who are going through the criminal justice system and was leading to enhanced confidence in the process.”
“We had already looked at things that we could do regarding immigration solicitors. We have moved ahead with that and are working with those immigration solicitors to resolve their issues, because their cases have a particular complexity that the 16% does not fully reflect. I have shown myself to be fair and equitable in how I have applied the 16%, and to be open to listening to a case where it is evidence-based.”
“I doubt that there is anyone in the Bar who would not welcome a 16% uplift, but there will, of course, be other opportunities through the reform process for us to look at other significant and distinct parts of the Bar, if they are able to make their case based on evidence, as was the case for the criminal Bar.”
“What I said was that the remainder of the Bar had not taken action in response to the 16% offer and that we had applied it across all sections of the Bar. Remember that the 16% was originally recommended only for the criminal Bar. I made the decision to do the uplift across the entire Bar to ensure that all parts were treated equitably.”
“We face a real risk of witness attrition, victims and witnesses suffering significant harm and justice coming a little too late for some. I pay tribute to those in the victim and witness care unit and in Victim Support for the added work that they have put in over recent months to support the most vulnerable victims.”
“Those affected by the action are the victims and witnesses, who will have been readying themselves to give evidence and hoping that their journey is near an end. They will now need to wait longer for justice. Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to meet the victim and witness care unit in the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and to speak directly to prosecutors and affected victims. Those discussions have served only to increase my alarm at the acute impact that the withdrawal of service is having. Every effort is being made to ensure that victims and witnesses are kept apprised of developments and that they can avail themselves of support, but that can be only so much help when people are vulnerable.”
“<BR /> <BR />The important thing, of course, is that the working group is successful in reaching a conclusion and bringing recommendations to me that are adequately evidence-based to allow me to go forward and look at how I can implement them.”
“There have been meetings between my officials and the Bar. I have not met the Bar, because I believe that the discussions should now happen through the working group. It is important that the evidence base goes through the working group and that that group then produces its report. <BR /> <BR />As you are aware, the issues that I described as being potentially "low-hanging fruit" may be able to be delivered by the end of this month, so we are talking in the next week or so. If we can identify them, we can include them in the secondary legislation that I hope to bring to the Chamber in May. We hope to have resolved the remaining items by June, which will allow us to deal with any outstanding issues in subsequent secondary legislation.”
“Provided that I can get the evidential basis, which, I hope, the working group will be able to provide, I am open to having that conversation.”
“I very much recognise the vulnerability. That is one of the reasons why I was very keen, in the interim, to find some kind of derogation for the most serious and severe cases where the harm was likely to be greatest. I am glad to say that there has been some progress on that. It is an improved position over where we were even a few weeks ago when I spoke on the matter. <BR /> <BR />My long-term intention is to put the profession and the legal aid system on a footing that is sustainable for the long term, that meets the needs of the public at their point of greatest need and that means that there is, at the same time, an efficient, effective and transparent use of resources in line with the Public Accounts Committee's recommendations. I have to balance all those things as I move forward.”
“The work of the group and its subgroups is already well under way, and I welcome the CBA's decision to participate and to continue to engage with us.”
“Following constructive engagement with the Law Society and the Solicitors Criminal Bar Association (SCBA), I have also taken the unprecedented step of backdating the uplift to December 2024. In light of concerns that the CBA expressed, I have also undertaken to implement a scheme of interim payments that should assist with cash flow for the profession. <BR /> <BR />In short, I feel that I have gone as far as I possibly can with my duty to ensure that public funding decisions are supported by robust evidence. However, and importantly, in establishing the working group under an independent chair, Judge Burgess, I have created an opportunity for additional evidence to be submitted to inform further decisions on fees.”
“Engagement with the legal professions and other stakeholders has been ongoing since the launch of the programme. The substantial 16% uplift in fees that I am implementing is based on the recommendations of the independent fundamental review of criminal legal aid, which was informed by 10 months of engagement with, and evidence submitted by, the Criminal Bar Association and others. My officials and I have also met professional bodies regularly since the review report was submitted. Since I announced my decisions in December, I have taken a number of further steps to address their concerns, including delaying publication of, and subsequently reprioritising, my delivery plan and enhancing fees for the whole profession at the earliest opportunity, which will be in May.”
“We always focus on ending violence against women and girls, but many young men online are incredibly vulnerable to that kind of radicalisation, but it serves them no purpose and does them no favours. We must therefore find meaningful and impactful ways of connecting with them to prevent their being dragged down rabbit holes online.”
“I have only just started watching 'Adolescence', so I do not want to comment on whether it is age-appropriate for pupils. I understand that the content is particularly triggering and quite traumatic. The Member is quite right, however, on a wider point: we need to have a range of resources and tools that are relatable for young people today so that they can understand the consequences of online radicalisation. Misogyny is no different from any other kind of extreme ideology in how it reaches people and pollutes their mind. It is just one of a number of ideologies that people use the internet for in order to influence attitudes. Many of our young men are vulnerable.”
“The two processes share the overarching objectives of reducing delay and unnecessary anxiety for vulnerable child complainants, so it is important to ensure that they dovetail with and complement each other.”
“Costs for the project have not yet been finalised, but it is very likely that additional funding will be required to introduce automated case tracking and appropriate recording and editing equipment, as well as for the arrangements and staffing needed to launch the pathfinder project to which I referred earlier. There is already a significant financial pressure on the Department's budget. Officials are reviewing budget plans to consider whether a pilot can be supported in the 2025-26 financial year. That will, however, be subject to an analysis of a range of priority projects for delivery being done. My officials are working closely with the Office of the Lady Chief Justice and other stakeholders involved in the judge-led under-13 protocol to expedite children's cases.”
“I do not have the final figure for the number of recommendations that have been either progressed or substantively completed. I can, however, assure the Member that, at this time, the percentage is well over 70%, and heading towards 80%, and there will be further developments as part of the victims and witnesses Bill that we hope to introduce in this mandate. That Bill will allow us to progress some of the outstanding elements of the recommendations. There are other complex recommendations that, although they are in train, have not yet been fully delivered, one of which is PRCE and another of which is how we deliver the Barnahus model for responding to child sexual offences.”
“<BR /> <BR />PRCE also has linkages and interdependencies with other child-focused work streams, and planning is ongoing to deliver a PRCE pilot, which will complement and support those initiatives. An impact evaluation of similar work in England and Wales has recently been published. My officials are considering the findings of that report to gather any insights for Northern Ireland. The launch of a pathfinder project will, however, be subject to the agreement of partner organisations and the securing of relevant funding.”
“My Department has been working with partners and stakeholders to develop arrangements to test pre-recorded cross-examination (PRCE) in response to the Gillen review report recommendation. Significant progress has been made through a cross-organisational PRCE working group. For example, a draft process map has been developed, a broad approach to pre-agreed questions has been agreed, including by defence representatives, and much of the detail has been worked through on how sessions will be managed and recorded, although the technical aspects of recording and editing are yet to be finalised. Progress has also been made in the area of disclosure, which is a key PRCE consideration.”
“Community service is indeed a good solution in justice, not just in the youth justice system but in the adult justice system. We talk a lot about restorative justice, but one of the elements of restorative justice is paying back the community from which you have come and to which you have caused harm. There is an opportunity, through cooperation with voluntary and community sector organisations, to find placements for young people and adults that allow them to make a genuine contribution to their community. Often, the result of that is that people continue to volunteer or to contribute in some way to that organisation beyond the terms of their community service. That is a really positive outcome from those orders.”
“In the past three years, an average of 1·7% of all community orders made in the Youth Court were community service orders. The figures for the individual years were 1·7% in 2021, 0·8% in 2022 and 2·7% in 2023. Those figures relate to cases where the main disposal was a community order. The figures are for initial disposals at court and do not include appeals. <BR /> <BR />Persons given a community service order must undertake at least 40 hours of unpaid work in the community within a 12-month period. The orders are supervised by the Probation Board. The young person must be 16 years of age or over and must consent to the order. The unpaid work must not interfere with their education, work or religious beliefs.”
“The only part of that that anyone could argue is that they must be unforeseen, and, of course, they are foreseen. What we cannot foresee, however, is when they will crystallise, so I would argue very strongly that we do indeed meet the funding policy criteria for a reserve claim.”
“At that point, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's position was that those matters do not meet the criteria for a reserve claim as set out in the funding policy, which apply when:”
“At the moment, we are not aware when these may crystallise, so we are still in a situation where there are exceptional pressures of around £227 million. The data breach is just one of those, and the Member has rightly identified holiday pay and McCloud. They will also impact on other Departments. That £227 million is only for the Department of Justice, but those issues will have impacts elsewhere also. However, I have to say that they are probably more significant in the Department of Justice relative to budget. <BR /> <BR />From our perspective, we have been seeking the opportunity to look to the reserve. We have not yet submitted a formal claim to the reserve, as the costs have not crystallised. However, it has been raised with Treasury, including in a bilateral on 27 February.”
“That is information that I do not hold. The PSNI may, however, hold it, and I would be happy were the Member to contact the Chief Constable directly to ask that question.”
“That is one key priority that the Chief Constable and I share. The other issue is to look at those outstanding items. In total, there is about £227 million in identified pressures that have not yet crystallised but, should they do so, could not be absorbed by the police, by the Department of Justice or, indeed, by the Executive. It is for those that we are trying to seek recourse to Treasury.”
“At the moment, I am not in a position to discuss what I intend to make bids for under June monitoring. Obviously, that will be contingent on the PSNI bringing to me a strong case for any bids that, it feels, should be taken forward. My focus is twofold. The first is to deal with the current business case, which has been provided to the Department of Finance, to increase police numbers.”
“I have been eagerly awaiting this one. <BR /> <BR />This is something that both the current and previous Finance Ministers have raised with Treasury. I understand that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has not agreed that there will be access to the reserve for these costs at this time. However, we will continue to jointly make robust representations to Treasury about the merits of our case. Should the Executive need to fund those costs from its existing Budget, that will be extremely challenging and will inevitably have an adverse impact on funding for public services. I will continue to engage with ministerial colleagues to agree how best the costs can be managed.”
“Thus far, my understanding is that, where the probation service has had to live within its budget, it has focused on, for example, the reporting to courts, so pre-sentencing reports to courts have slowed down somewhat in order to maintain the level of supervision that is required of those sex offenders and others who are in the community. There is also a responsibility through the Public Protection Arrangements Northern Ireland for the monitoring of people who are in the community, and that will be affected by all parts of the justice system. As I have said before, sometimes people underestimate what is at stake with the underfunding of the justice system. Public safety is key amongst those factors.”
“The contract that we have can be expanded to include GPS monitoring, and so we were prepared for this. Whether or not we were successful in the transformation bid, we were prioritising this in the Department. The fact that we have been successful with the transformation bid simply means that we do not now need to take that money from other key priorities in order to make this happen. Work has still to be done on how we manage the data, what data will be held and for how long. All those issues will have to be worked through to ensure that we are fully compliant. It may, helpfully, create more confidence with the judiciary about people being released on licence or on bail. Also, it will hopefully create more confidence in the public that people are properly supervised when they are on licence or on bail.”
“<BR /> <BR />The £2·19 million allocated for electronic monitoring will enable my Department to take forward work to transform the way in which it monitors individuals released into the community. That will include considering the implications of GPS location monitoring for those on bail or on licence fitted with an electronic tag as part of their release conditions. That enhanced monitoring could be used to strengthen bail conditions, probation orders or prison release conditions. The availability of transformation funding is therefore a huge boost in light of the significant funding pressures that my Department has worked under for a great number of years, which have affected our ability to deliver the much-needed reforms.”
“Some £20·45 million will be used to support work to speed up and transform the criminal justice system, which is a key departmental commitment in the Programme for Government. The remaining £2·19 million will help to modernise our electronic monitoring systems. The funding for speeding up justice focuses largely on work to establish new ways of working between key justice stakeholders such as the police, prosecutors, the defence and courts, with a view to speeding up particularly the early stages of criminal cases, helping to ease pressure on courts and other parts of the system. The funding will also support work to expand the use of existing out-of-court disposals so that, where it is appropriate to do so, more low-level offences are diverted away from the courts entirely, helping to ease pressure on the system.”
“The funding is therefore extremely welcome and will enable much-needed change to the criminal justice system as a whole, helping to improve the time taken to complete cases and, for example, to better manage offenders on bail. I am wholly convinced that the funding will provide opportunities to improve effectiveness and efficiency and to meet the increased and changing demands on the system, thereby providing stability for the future.”
“I am delighted that my Department was successful in its bid for transformation funding, which is worth £22·64 million over five years. The funding will be used on efforts to speed up and transform the criminal justice system and to modernise electronic monitoring. <BR /> <BR />Justice is demand-led, with funding, quite appropriately, being allocated to front-line services first. Given the financial pressures that my Department has faced and continues to face, that has left little opportunity to support projects aimed at transforming the system. Despite the financial constraints, the Department has continued to prioritise transformation as part of its business-as-usual operations and has sought to identify areas for further transformation and to develop proposals should the opportunity to progress them arise.”
“I am not convinced that we have reached the point where we need to reconsider the introduction of 50:50 recruitment. However, the Member will be aware that, as the Minister, I must remain open to that request should it be presented to me by the Policing Board or the Chief Constable. When previously utilised, it was linked to a severance scheme. Of course, that was established as a temporary measure to hasten the restructuring of the policing at that time. We are in a different arrangement now. As I say, I did not support it at that time, and I do not see a need for it at this time.”
“Absolutely. It was disappointing to see the response to the small number of adverts that showed racial diversity in the PSNI. The reaction to those was incredibly disappointing for those of us who wish to see a more inclusive, more representative Police Service. Let us be clear: an inclusive and representative Police Service will also be more effective and more able to connect with members of the public whom it serves and seeks to protect. <BR /> <BR />It has also been a disgrace to see the many anti-PSNI posters that appeared during that campaign and threats to new officers in the community. Those are wider issues that we need to look at as a society. We do not see those things happening solely with regard to the police, but it is incredibly disappointing when they do.”
“There are two things. First, I do not accept that there is two-tiered justice in the ombudsman's office. Secondly, it is not a matter for me to comment on how and when the ombudsman issues her reports. I am aware that she is processing a number of legacy reports. There is a deadline for those to be issued, and she intends to comply with the deadline. Beyond that, I suggest that the Member take up his issue with the ombudsman.”
“We should address it, look at it carefully and ensure that that is no longer the case.”
“There are two schools of thought on why people are deterred from membership of the PSNI or, indeed, progression. The first is that there is a fundamental flaw in the organisation's recruitment practices. The bald numbers of applications and successful applicants suggest that that is not the case. There is a wider issue, and that is one of attrition over time: people, because of threats received, intimidation, the disconnect between their community and the work that they do, find it difficult to maintain their working arrangements. As a society, we need to consider that. If, however, there is evidence of a culture in the organisation that militates against career progression through that organisation or against people wanting to remain in the organisation, we should not be blind to that issue.”