All of Mrs Naomi Long’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
There is a long-standing and ongoing funding challenge for Justice, which is well recognised by everyone in the House because I repeat it frequently enough. It will undoubtedly impact on what we can deliver. The DOJ's share of the Northern Ireland block grant has fallen continually over the past 14 years, from just…
The programme is an example of cross-justice collaboration to try to resolve what is a key issue. The Criminal Justice Board comprises all the senior leaders in the justice system, and they have prioritised that programme of work. It takes a whole-system approach; focuses on reducing avoidable delay, reducing demand,…
The money was set aside and ring-fenced at the beginning when I was budgeting, which is why, at the beginning, I had quite limited budgetary concerns. I have had to take some fairly difficult decisions to live within the budget. My overspend at the moment is pretty much entirely with the PSNI. That is where the…
Like the Department of Health and the Department of Education, the Department of Justice has a projected overspend. There is a deficit of around £23 million for the PSNI. Until we have a plan in place to deal with that, a pay rise has been deemed unaffordable, although it has been approved in a value-for-money…
The County Court rules committee has proposed a 23% increase to fees under the County Court scale to address inflation's eroding their value since 2017. The proposed amendments have undergone consultation, economic appraisal and policy screening, with no anticipated impact. The draft rules are subject to negative…
I remain committed to delivering the uplift to remuneration that I set out in the Chamber in December last year. Officials across the Department are continuing to progress the business case with the Department of Finance that covers the wider enabling access to justice programme, not just the increase in legal aid…
The Online Safety Act is but one of the tools available, and, obviously, my Department has made representations to the Home Office, which leads on communications and telecommunications because it is a reserved matter. We continue to feed in our concerns in that space. Through the tackling paramilitarism programme, we…
There are two elements to it. The degree to which sentencing is a true deterrent is questionable, because most people who commit crime never consider being caught. Many of them do things on the spur of the moment without giving any due regard to what the outcome for them might be, and many are completely reckless with…
That is difficult, because the bulletin looks only at reported incidents and reported crimes, yet we all know that there will be instances in which those crimes are not reported. Many victims, for good reason, will choose not to present to the PSNI. Although I always encourage people to report crime, I understand the…
The most recent PSNI bulletin, which was published on 28 August, shows that, in the 12 months up until 30 June 2025, 29,740 domestic abuse incidents and 18,246 domestic abuse crimes were recorded. That represents decreases of almost 7% and 5·5% respectively on the previous year. Although those reductions may appear…
I understand the Member's point, because it has been raised with me before. We have to go back to what the purpose of the compensation scheme is, however. It was introduced at a time when businesses and individuals were often unable to get insurance because of the level of property damage that was being inflicted…
The criminal damage compensation scheme provides important financial support to victims where there has been physical damage to a property or a vehicle in Northern Ireland and where it can be shown that the damage was caused unlawfully, maliciously or wantonly by an unlawful assembly of three or more people or…
Intersectionality forms part of the hate-crime legislation that we hope to bring forward, and there will be aggravating factors where a hate-crime motive for the signalling offence can be proven. We will also prosecute those as stand-alone offences so that, if a hate-crime motivation cannot be proven, a person can…
Damaging street signs in general is one of the most petty and childish acts that a person can undertake. If you cannot drive past a sign that you do not like without feeling the need to take an angle grinder or a bucket of paint to it, you need to take a long, hard look at yourself. I will not be providing any…
The PSNI's assessment is that, whilst there are individuals who are connected to existing paramilitary organisations and are engaged and active in a number of those protests, there is less evidence to substantiate any claim that those organisations are orchestrating or organising those protests. In addition to the…
Like many other crimes that are committed by cowards under cover of darkness to intimidate and threaten, it can be very difficult to identify the individual perpetrators or actors in those situations. I encourage people to continue to report, because patterns of reporting can, in themselves, help the PSNI when it…
There is no place in society for that type of hate. Every person and every family, regardless of religion or background, is entitled to feel safe and free from threat or intimidation. My Department is engaged in a wide range of work to respond to sectarian hate attacks and to strengthen support for victims of hate…
I have raised the treatment of those people, particularly in cases of paramilitary-style attacks, in writing with the UK Government and the president of the Victims' Payments Board. Shootings and beatings by paramilitary organisations, whether they are intra-community or inter-community, need to be addressed in the…
We provide over £2·4 million of funding for the general work that we do to support victims, and to ensure that victims and witnesses of crime can access the support services that they need. Those services are delivered by Victim Support NI and the NSPCC's young witness service. Through the witness support services,…
I certainly understand the hurt felt by victims' families and the sensitivity of the issue, which is why it is particularly disappointing that there has been so much politicking, particularly around the interview that I gave after the event. What I said has been thoroughly and deliberately misrepresented. To provide…
My Department funds support services to assist all victims of crime on an equal basis. The entitlements and services that victims of crime in Northern Ireland can expect to receive from criminal justice organisations are set out in the statutory Victim Charter. The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service is…
Policing and community safety partnerships are jointly funded by my Department and the Policing Board, and they lead on the Department's operational response to specific concerns at a local level. They work with designated partners, local statutory bodies and agencies, and the voluntary and community sector to tackle…
Conversations with partners are ongoing. The previous joint consultation with DFC on the issue indicated a strong desire for change. We are proposing providing PSNI officers with the additional power to seize and dispose of alcohol in exceptional circumstances, such as certain public order situations. We are also…
Police powers around drinking in public in Northern Ireland derive from a mix of local by-laws and broader public order legislation. Councils can prohibit drinking in designated public areas by way of local by-laws made under the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. Consuming alcohol in those areas is an…