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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“However, work to identify individuals within the scope of the legislation is advanced: indeed, I received an update from the Chief Constable this morning on that issue. Once that assessment of cases has been completed, we will issue those letters without delay. <BR /> <BR />The intention is for letters to issue to affected individuals in advance of the opening of the financial redress scheme for the cohort of applicants. We understand from the Department for Business and Trade that that is provisionally scheduled for the end of July. However, if anyone believes that they have the right to be exonerated under the scheme, I encourage them, even at this stage, to come forward to the Department, make us aware of their case and allow us to find the relevant information to ensure that everyone who is entitled to support is fully captured.”
“Prior to the calling of the election, it was anticipated that the Bill would pass and would receive Royal Assent in early to mid-July. That was the deadline to which my Department was working. However, the Act went through those processes swiftly in the wash-up in Westminster, and, therefore, we are notifying people that their convictions have been quashed where their convictions have been identified, and, as I described in my initial answer, we will take steps to notify a personal representative if a person is deceased. <BR /> <BR />Our original intent was that those letters would issue at the point that the legislation received Royal Assent. However, as Royal Assent was brought forward to 24 May, that was not possible.”
“My Department is working with the UK Government and operational partners on the implementation of the Act. That includes identifying any cases that are within the scope of the legislation, notifying the individuals concerned and ensuring that their records are updated. That work is ongoing. <BR /> <BR />Although the number of cases that have been identified in Northern Ireland is relatively small, the hurt and distress that the Horizon scandal inflicted on the individuals concerned is no less significant. Therefore, I am keen to ensure that all those who have had convictions overturned or cautions deleted are notified as soon as possible and that those eligible to receive financial redress are allowed to access that as swiftly as possible.”
“With respect, Mr Speaker, I am not sure that the general election is a matter that falls to the Department of Justice, nor do I believe that the question is particularly appropriate. I cannot use my resources in the Department to promote my campaign; equally, I do not think that other parties should use the Chamber to promote theirs. There has to be some appropriateness when it comes to such things. I am glad to know that the Member is watching me so closely to see how I spend my time outside the Chamber. He will, no doubt, also have recognised that the 30 seconds that I spent on the ghost train, which, by the way, was excellent value for money, was only a tiny part of a busy day on the campaign trail.”
“I will do what is right in front of the law and the Assembly. The specifics of the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act — the four clauses — are one element of that consideration, and they are an important one, but the wider ramifications of the judgement for the ability of the House, Committees and, indeed, the Executive to take forward legislation are not insignificant. Therefore, I will wait until the full legal advice has been offered to me before I make any decision. I have briefed my Executive colleagues and others for whom this is relevant on some of the detail of that, and I will make the right decision on the basis of the future of the House and its ability to legislate on those matters.”
“The most powerful thing that we as an Assembly can do is not what we do to support the victims of crime but what we do to change our society so that people are less at risk of becoming victims of crime. I look forward to seeing the strategy for ending violence against women and girls being published soon in order that we can refocus on preventing victims being created rather than simply focusing on the supports that we can offer people once their life has been, often, irretrievably destroyed.”
“We have excluded the general public from the court room at trial, and we continue to implement other Gillen recommendations to reduce delay, improve training for front-line staff who deal with victims and improve achieving best evidence procedures and disclosure processes to help with the experience of victims of sexual crime.”
“Some of the reforms that Sir John Gillen's review proposed have been implemented and are having a positive effect. Disclosure is obviously one of the areas that we wish to address, because we believe that some issues around disclosure have been negative. The seeking and use of victims' third-party material has also been a concern for victims' rights advocates. We ensure that victims are informed of the SOLA service and can self-refer to legal advice prior to making a report. Finally, the provision of remote evidence centres is hugely important to ensure that victims can give their evidence in safe and comfortable surroundings away from the court building.”
“A range of support is available for people who go to trial in rape cases. One of them is that people have the right to seek special measures that mean that they do not have to go to the court and give their evidence in public.”
“I would be interested to meet the Member to further discuss that first point. That issue has not specifically been raised with me through the Department, but I would be keen to address it if there is a gap in provision. <BR /> <BR />We had hoped to provide the children's sexual offences legal adviser (CSOLA) this year, but we did not get the resource budget that we bid for in respect of that project. We will continue with the work that is being done as part of the under-13s pilot, hopefully extending it to under-16s in order to expedite those cases through the justice system to give as much support as we can and continue to work with others to secure the additional funding needed for the CSOLA.”
“<BR /> <BR />Subject to funding, I hope to launch a pilot to test pre-recorded cross-examination, before the end of the mandate, and to establish SOLAs for child victims. I look forward to receiving a report on some ongoing research into attrition in serious sexual offence cases and will use the findings to develop further measures to increase victims' confidence to be able to report sexual crime and to remain in the criminal justice system until the conclusion of their cases.”
“I am planning a range of reforms that will add to the supports for rape victims, such as the establishment of remote evidence centres, advocacy and sexual offences legal advisers (SOLAs), which my Department has already introduced. Those new measures include legislation to provide for greater regulation of the use of victims' private information within the criminal justice disclosure process and to clarify when and how pre-trial third-party representation for victims of serious offences may be enabled. Those measures will support victims who wish to object to applications for the disclosure of their personal information, such as medical or counselling records, or to applications to admit evidence of their previous sexual history at trial.”
“The challenge function that she can provide at the moment is powerful, but, given a statutory footing, I believe that she will be able to do much more.”
“The work that the commissioner designate has done is hugely important. As Members will be aware, when we appointed a commissioner, the idea was that that person would lead on areas such as hate crime and domestic violence and abuse. Her work on that has been extremely strong; she has not only challenged the legislation, the victims' charter and those areas but has looked at the flow from domestic abuse cases into the family courts and challenged for the reform of the family courts system. That has been incredibly helpful, particularly to those victims, with whom we have all engaged, who find that the family courts system can sometimes be abused by former partners who try to coerce and control their partner, post break-up. The commissioner designate's voice and independence on that are hugely important.”
“The commissioner designate and her office continue to represent the needs, rights and interests of all victims of crime. I am very grateful for the engagement that the commissioner designate and her team have taken forward with victims and their families and for her identification of priority areas for change. Not only has she been instrumental in amplifying the voices of victims of crimes to promote better service delivery and compliance with the victims' charter, she has been critical to the driving up of the protection of victims' data and privacy. In the next number of weeks, I hope that she will join us at the Criminal Justice Board on a trial basis, so that she will have a seat at the table as we make decisions about crucial issues such as speeding up justice.”
“I recognise the very important contribution already being made by the Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime in giving a voice to victims and representing their needs and interests. I plan to introduce legislation before the end of the mandate to put the role of Commissioner for Victims of Crime on a statutory footing.”
“The Department has allocated around £500,000 for 2024-25 to support the deployment of supervising officers whose role it is to engage with TROs to support the assessment and management of their risk. The funding secures supervision officers and administrative staff — six and a half full-time equivalents — from HMPPS. The supervising officers are all qualified probation officers. My priority is keeping the public safe and delivering effective public protection. That can be a costly exercise, but savings are realised wherever possible.”
“Under the arrangements, supervising officers work with partners to conduct risk assessments; prepare risk management plans; provide reports for review by the Parole Commissioners for Northern Ireland; and monitor those offenders who have been released into the community. Those arrangements enhance and support public protection.”
“In September 2021, my Department established the multi-agency review arrangements, known as MARA, to assess and manage the risks posed by terrorist risk offenders (TROs). That is in line with article 50 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, which makes provision for the management of offenders who may cause serious harm to the public. In discharging that function, MARA brings together the Department of Justice and supervising officers appointed on the Department’s behalf, along with representatives from the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Terrorist risk offenders are managed under MARA from the point of conviction through to the expiry of their licence period.”
“We need to get to the bottom of why the delays have happened and how we can eliminate those delays, rather than doing things that, I guarantee, make life easier for the board but may not help the officers about whom you speak.”
“There is, of course, nothing to stop the board doing whatever it wishes to speed up delivery by the injury-on-duty scheme. That is the responsibility of the board, and it is not for me to direct the board on how to implement that scheme or what resources to attach to it. The question that has been asked of me is whether I would relocate that injury-on-duty responsibility either in the Department or, more likely, with the Chief Constable. We need to approach that question with due care and attention. We are waiting on a consultation outcome in July. When we have the consultation outcome and have been able to see the feedback on that, we can look at whether that is the way to proceed. We need to make sure that do not simply move a failing scheme, potentially, around different organisations.”
“The IMR issue is significant. We have now engaged the service of an external supplier. That allowed the independent medical referee assessment process to commence on 4 March this year. Officials have instructed the supplier to procure additional resources, with a view to resolving the backlog as soon as possible. That backlog is the result of medical appointments being paused due to several factors. They include the COVID pandemic, by removing the ability for cases to be actioned; the McCloud remedy, requiring the reassessment of some police pensions; the exploration of the Department's previous IMR contract; and the difficulty in procuring a new supplier who could provide the services. Thankfully, on the last score, we now have that arrangement in place.”
“One recommendation of the report was to set up a steering group comprised of key representatives from DOJ, DOF, the Police Service, the Policing Board, the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Departmental Solicitor's Office to manage the implementation of the recommendations. The two subgroups that now report to the steering group were established to allow us to take that forward. The steering group is considering the roles and responsibilities associated with the PSNI injury-on-duty scheme to determine where they would be best placed. However, it is important that we do not cut across other important work that is also strictly time-bound and needs to be taken forward in shorter measure when we come to look at this issue.”
“I understand the point that is being made, but given that the roles and responsibilities of the Policing Board were established by the Patten report, any change is likely to be a cross-cutting matter involving the Executive Office and the Department of Finance and, potentially, requiring amendment to primary and secondary legislation. Before making any commitment to change, it would be important to do proper consideration on it. <BR /> <BR />In March 2020, the Northern Ireland Audit Office concluded its report on injury-on-duty schemes for officers and looked at injury-on-duty awards made to former police and prison officers for injuries sustained while they were on duty.”
“Until the four recommendations outlined in the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report relating to the police injury-on-duty scheme are addressed, I have no plans to remove either the injury-on-duty or ill-health retirement responsibilities from the Northern Ireland Policing Board at this stage. The matter is out for a targeted consultation until 17 July 2024. However, the roles and responsibilities of the Department, the PSNI and the Policing Board will be considered as part of future deliberations.”
“However, I understand that the board has agreed to exercise its power under section 59 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 to require the Chief Constable to submit a further report on the matter and that, provided that the terms of reference for the McCullough review meet the board's section 59 requirements, this will act as its section 59 report.”
“It is a very important point. The Chief Constable is ultimately operationally responsible to the Policing Board. The Patten arrangements were put in place after considerable thought and sensitivity, and, as Justice Minister, I would be loath to take a wrecking ball to the delicate balances therein. That course of action and how the Policing Board decides to proceed with its investigations is a matter for the board. I respect its operational independence in its role of holding the Chief Constable to account.”
“It is a decision taken in line with the guidance in the legislation. It clearly says that a Minister, in making a decision to call a public inquiry, must have due regard to what other investigatory mechanisms are available to deal with an issue before proceeding. It is also the case that it would be improper, though not impossible, to cut across a tribunal system that is judge-led. I have also set out the other restrictions that may come into play at such times as I would be directly asked to institute an inquiry, in that the issues may well interface with the security services, in which case my powers as a devolved Minister and, indeed, any devolved Minister's powers are significantly constrained by the Inquiries Act 2005.”
“As I publicly stated to the House on 4 June, I am not ruling out future action and stand ready and willing to support the board in such actions as may be considered necessary. However, at this stage, I remain satisfied that no action on my part is yet required, as the processes of accountability by the Chief Constable, the Policing Board, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and the McCullough review should be allowed to conclude without interference.”
“We know that contact, particularly early contact, with the justice system tends not to augur well for people's long-term life outcomes. The longer we can keep our young people out of the justice system and provide them with the support that they need, the better for everyone in society.”
“<BR /> <BR />Some may see that as a reason not to make a change, but, as well as meeting our international obligations, raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility would send out a clear message that young children who offend need support, guidance and help, not criminalisation and punishment. Were the MACR to be raised, it would be our intention to work with partners across other statutory, community and voluntary sectors to agree a framework through which children engaging in criminal or antisocial behaviour could receive multi-agency support in the community to address their behaviour and the underlying issues.”
“The effect will depend much on the agreed new minimum age, but it would affect only limited numbers of individuals, as few young children are currently dealt with through the formal justice system, thanks to the work of the Youth Justice Agency (YJA). If the MACR were to be raised to 12, for example, it would have affected a total of 63 children in 2022, as that was the number dealt with through the courts or diversionary measures. Only 12 of those cases were prosecuted at court, which is less than 1% of the number of children dealt with in that year.”
“<BR /> <BR />On the basis of the outcome of the consultation, my officials have developed an options paper. I intend to share it with my Executive colleagues to seek their views on my proposals. As any increase in the minimum age of criminal responsibility requires legislative change, it will not be possible for me to progress the matter in the absence of Executive approval.”
“I have been very clear about my commitment to raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) in Northern Ireland in order to bring us closer to meeting international standards, including those set by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). At 10 years of age, our current MACR is the lowest in Europe. In raising it, we are saying not that children's offending behaviour should be ignored but that children should not face the full force of the justice system. <BR /> <BR />In order to seek the views of the public on this important issue, I agreed to a consultation, which was carried out in 2022. It showed overwhelming support for an increase in the MACR, with over 83% of respondents agreeing that the age should be increased beyond 10 years. The majority supported an increase to 14 years.”
“Treasury rules are clear that whoever owns the policy pays the bill, and that has to apply in this case.”
“One of the great challenges that we have had is being able to determine what burden the new legislative arrangements will place on my Department. While the Government are clear that they believe that the legislation will alleviate some of the pressures that the Department has faced when handling the issues, no allowance has been made for, for example, the funding of some requests that have been made in addition to what we receive through the block grant. I can think of examples in which that is the case. I have, however, made it clear to all the organisations that work with and are funded by the Department of Justice that any work done for the ICRIR is a separate line of accounting and needs to be treated as such and that costs need to be recovered from the UK Government.”
“I deeply regret the fact that I can give such people no consolation, because the matter is outwith the competence of my Department and the Assembly. Responsibility for legacy legislation has been taken by the Westminster Government. They have made their decision that that is the way forward. I have consistently made clear my opposition to the Act, and I fully support calls for it to be repealed. I hope that whoever is in government following the general election will make that a priority and will listen to victims and survivors and support them in their quest for truth and justice. I cannot, however, offer them an alternative means of seeking truth and justice, which has been barred by legislation from Westminster.”
“I am already committed to the repeal of the legislation, and I have been clear that that is what, I believe, should happen. We have to look at what has been suggested by Labour Party statements in the round. While Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to repeal the Act if there is a Labour Government following the general election on 4 July, the shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, speaking on 'Good Morning Ulster', said that Labour would remove immunity from the Act and restore civil cases and inquests. There therefore appears to be something of a dichotomy in Labour's approach. My Department will make preparations for whichever outcome the next Government announce in due course and, in the interim, abide by our legal requirements on cooperation.”
“<BR /> <BR />My opposition to the legislation passed in Westminster and my concerns about the impact that it will have on the right of victims and survivors to access justice and on wider public confidence in the justice system remain. The justice organisations for which my Department has responsibility will, nevertheless, fully comply with any obligations now placed on them by the Act and will not seek to obstruct or frustrate in any way the delivery of truth or justice to those impacted most directly by the Troubles.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 places statutory duties on relevant authorities, including the PSNI and the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, to provide such information, documents and material as the commission may reasonably require to enable it to carry out reviews of deaths and other harmful contact during the period of the Troubles. I am aware that the commission has been engaging directly with those organisations on how those interfaces will be managed. There has also been some preliminary engagement with Forensic Science Northern Ireland and the legacy inquest unit in the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service.”
“My Department has had limited engagement to date with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, which was formally established on 1 May. The Commissioner for Investigations, Peter Sheridan, wrote to me in March to update me on the development of the commission and its operating model. In his letter, he offered to meet me to brief me more fully on those matters. That meeting took place on 4 June. The commission has also requested a meeting with my officials, which is due to take place next month.”
“The hope is that the videos will serve as a prompt for discussion and learning to be used by EPPOC's delivery partners, engaging with different groups of service users as well as with all schools. They can be integrated into existing programmes, such as those by the Education Authority, Communities in Transition, Developing Women in the Community, Aspire, Engage, NIACRO and others. The plan is that the videos can serve as a prompt for people who may not realise that they or, indeed, their friends have been subject to, for example, child criminal exploitation but, on watching the videos and looking at the evidence that is presented in them, may recognise themselves or others as victims and, therefore, be more willing to report and make disclosure about that abuse.”
“The remaining two videos in the series, which cover the topics of violence and criminal exploitation, will be launched by the programme in August and September respectively.”
“The harms that are most commonly associated with paramilitary gangs are centred around drugs, violence against the person, public order issues and bombing and shooting attacks. What is less obvious is how gangs groom, exploit and harm vulnerable young people to maintain their position in communities through intimidation and the threat of violence. To help to highlight that, the Executive programme on paramilitarism and organised crime produced three short case study videos covering the topics of violence, victims and child criminal exploitation. The first film launched on 1 May and has been viewed over 46,000 times on social media, prompting media and public discussion.”
“Therefore, it is hugely important that the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) seeks to maintain appropriate living conditions, out-of-cell time and the delivery of a predictable and stable regime. If NIPS does not have sufficient staff available each day, it is not possible to offer that predictability, and, therefore, restrictions will increase, out-of-cell time will reduce and relationships with staff will deteriorate. The fact that over 500 prisoners are doubling up across the estate also impacts on living conditions and on prisoner and staff morale.”
“Our experience shows us and evidence demonstrates that a high prison population generally results in an increase in tension in the prison setting. Managing prisoners through encouraging positive behaviour becomes more challenging, leading, for example, to increases in assaults and incidents. When we are dealing with a more volatile environment, that leads to increases in the use of force, the number of adjudications and the use of segregation. That can contribute to prisoners, particularly vulnerable prisoners, feeling more unsafe, and levels of self-harm tend to increase. <BR /> <BR />Prisoners, in general, are cooperative when they are treated with humanity and respect; in essence, when relationships between them and prison staff are positive and courteous.”
“I would advise the Member to raise the operational detail of that with the director general. However, no one would have access to security-level information unless they have been adequately cleared to take up that role. Checks are made before people are allocated to the roles that they play in the system. I imagine that it would be the same with PRISM.”
“That programme was put in place to support individuals who are neurodiverse and acquaint them with the processes that they would face when they arrive at prison, with the different stages of search and with the environment. Obviously, those who have particular sensory issues will often find prison a stressful environment. The noise, the sniffer dogs and the change of environment can be stressful, so preparing children, in particular, and adult visitors for what to expect when they arrive at the prison has proven to be valuable to families. We also recognise that some of our prisoners arrive with complex needs and often with undiagnosed neurodiversity issues. We are looking at how we can better support those prisoners on their journey through the system so that they get the maximum benefit from their time in our custody.”
“I thank the Member for the opportunity to do so. A number of years ago, when I visited the prisons, one of our staff had helpfully designed a programme to support children with autism or, indeed, neurodiversity to access prison visits better than had been the case in the past. As people will appreciate, family connections are a hugely important part of the rehabilitation process. They are also a hugely important part of a prisoner's life when they are apart from their family and, conversely, for their family when they are apart from the prisoner. Therefore, a lot is at stake when those visits go well or do not go well. <BR /> <BR />Autism and autism spectrum disorders can lead to people finding the prison environment stressful and to a degradation in the quality of visits.”
“While it is right that the planned actions continue to be ambitious, it is important to acknowledge the context in which the Prison Service will be operating and delivering, with a significantly increased and increasing prison population.”