Debate contribution: Criminal Bar Association: Withdrawal of Services
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 20 January 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Criminal Bar Association: Withdrawal of Services
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5348514
Read the official Assembly record
Text
At the moment, we spend around £44 a head on criminal legal aid in Northern Ireland. The equivalent in England, Scotland and Wales is around £22 a head. There are reasons why that may be the case in the Northern Ireland context, however there are significant differences.
One of my concerns in enabling access to justice, for example, is that the means test that applies for eligibility to legal aid is set so that the majority of people who do not qualify under that means test still do not find it affordable to access justice.
What I would like to do? I have described it as a funnel. I would like the means test to be broader and encompass more people: for example, those who are working but in low-income jobs and may not be able to afford legal advice. I want it to be focused on getting the right advice as early as possible, so that we avoid burdening the court system down the line. I also want to look at the types of cases that are funded to ensure that those are the ones that have the biggest impact on an individual or on points of public law, so that we do not fund anything that is not absolutely essential. There is a definite difference in Northern Ireland. I do not want to read too much into it, but, in fairness, we cannot neglect the fact that we spend more on criminal legal aid than other parts of these islands.
252 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.96).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.96 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:15 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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