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.
The issues that the Member refers to fall into the reserved space rather than the devolved space. However, I have, obviously, had contact with Ofcom, which is responsible for implementing the Online Safety Act and carrying out oversight of it. I have been engaging directly with Ofcom about our concerns, and I am…
There are a number of elements to that. First and foremost, there was a significant delay when the Assembly was not here, and that created problems. The deepfake image offence was originally to be brought forward as part of the Crime and Policing Bill that is going through Westminster — we would have simply…
Members will know that I have been committed to strengthening the law where possible to try to stop those blights on our society. In the previous Assembly mandate, I introduced a new domestic abuse offence that marked a step change by capturing controlling coercive behaviour and psychological, emotional or financial…
The past few years have seen an exponential rise in the proliferation of non-consensual sexually explicit deepfake images, which research shows are overwhelmingly targeted at women and girls and are yet another form of sexual abuse and exploitation. Those images perpetuate, promote and normalise misogyny and the…
I do not accept the Member's characterisation of the situation, but I accept that, by going unlawfully at large, James Meehan has caused further distress and anguish to the McFadden family. I have apologised publicly to the McFadden family for how it has been handled. I have offered a meeting with the McFadden family.…
As I said, pre-release testing is a vital part of rehabilitation work. It tests an individual in a structured, measured and risk-assessed manner prior to consideration by the Parole Commissioners for Northern Ireland. It provides additional evidence for the Parole Commissioners to enable them to apply their statutory…
Well, I did not ask others to do more. I instructed one of my officials — a senior official, the director general of the Prison Service — to undertake a review in order to look at how we can better balance resources. Pre-release testing is critical in ensuring that, when people are released into the community, they…
Pre-release testing is a vital part of public protection and the prisoner rehabilitation work that is undertaken in our prisons. Most prisoners go through the various stages of pre-release testing successfully and reintegrate into the community. However, a small number continually fail or abuse the process by going…
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I thank the Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Ms Armstrong for securing the debate, and I welcome the opportunity to engage on these issues with everyone who has remained in their place despite the hour. I am acutely aware of the challenges facing our justice system, and…
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. First, I did not miss most of the debate. I was working in my office and was listening keenly to the debate. Secondly, if you look around the Chamber, you will see plenty of people who will have spoken to their colleagues throughout the debate. It is not for Mr Butler to call me to…
In the first instance, we hope to provide the PSNI with the money that allowed it to build resilience by getting mutual aid. That was around £5 million, and we are very hopeful of it coming through. As for the wider resources that are available to the PSNI, the best way for it to build confidence in communities is to…
Increasing the maximum sentence for the offence would, of course, empower us to reflect the full gravity of cases where a child or vulnerable adult has suffered death or serious harm and where there has been a wilful failure to act to protect that person. That would send a very strong message about the seriousness…
We are looking at proposals in the offence of causing or allowing the death of, or serious physical harm to, a child or vulnerable adult. The offence addresses cases where it is clear that a child or vulnerable adult has suffered serious harm or death but it is impossible to prove which household member was directly…
First, to clarify, I did not say that AEPs could not be fatal, because there are circumstances in which they will be, but they are less-often fatal than the alternative, which is live rounds. That is the point that I made. I did not say that AEPs are not fatal, because I know that, tragically, people have lost their…
First, plastic bullets have not been used in Northern Ireland for a very long time. The AEPs that are currently used are of a different magnitude and make, and they are not used in a liberal fashion. They are used only when there is a threat to life, and the alternative to using them is to use live rounds. We have to…
The Restorative Justice Council, which is a national organisation, held its annual conference here last year, at which I spoke. I also regularly meet restorative justice practitioners, whether they are working in probation, prisons or the community and voluntary sector.
As the Member will be aware, restorative justice is something that I feel passionately about. As I said yesterday, one of the purposes of sentencing is to ensure that reparations are made to the community and people are forced to confront the impact of the harm that they cause as they offend. Part of that can be done…
The Member will know what I have said about not wanting to encroach on judicial discretion when it comes to particular situations. I am conscious of the risks around prescribing particular sentencing outcomes that would then apply in every case. However, I am open to discussing with the Member how we can make sure…
I am more than happy to do so. I was at the launch of the Let Them Protect campaign, and anyone who has seen the hard-hitting advertising on television will be struck by the vulnerability of the people whom the police attend to day and daily and the risks to them if PSNI officers are instead in hospital waiting rooms…
My initial answer made clear my views on paramilitarism. I have been consistent throughout my political career that there can be no place in our society for paramilitarism. Although I respect the right of every community to respect its dead and to commemorate those matters that are important to it, we all need to be…
I will answer the first part of that question as best I can, although it is not necessarily one for the Department of Justice alone to answer. A number of factors are involved. First, there is young people's lack of lived experience. Young people see stuff on television and think that it looks exciting. If you have…
I have taken every opportunity to do that: first, in the opening Budget allocations and as we have gone through the year to date; in fairness, we are only about 10 weeks into the year. Some 65% of the funding that came into the Department of Justice went to PSNI, and 35% provides for the entire remainder of the…
I will provide some clarity. As things stand, the PSNI has set aside a provisional £7 million this year for recruitment in the first year, which is the first year of the business plan. However, because that has not yet been funded by the Executive, that adds to its pressures, which are around £21 million, with £7…