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 5348522
Read the official Assembly record
Text
When I made my statement last week, I set out the engagement that I had had. I had written to members of the criminal Bar individually to apprise them, first, of the action that I had taken in respect of the request that had been made of me around what we refer to as the "16% uplift" in fees — actually, in some cases, it is more than 16%, but that was the broad sweep of uplift that had happened — and in respect of setting up the working group as requested under the chairmanship Judge Burgess. As I went along, I set out all the other asks that had been made and the progress on those. Members of the Justice Committee, who have perhaps been watching this more closely, will be aware that we postponed the issue of cases left on the books until the end of the process in order to give us more time to work with the criminal Bar to address that issue. I have also looked at interim payments, which are important for the cash flow of solicitors and young barristers. We have done lots of things. I met the criminal Bar last week, as I said, and it was a constructive meeting. In response to my letter of 5 January, I got a much clearer idea of what it was that the criminal Bar actually wanted to discuss at this stage. We were able to sit down and look at that ask. Not all of it will be achievable, and I think that they appreciate that that is the case. I sat down with them to look at how we could handle those issues in a way that would expedite a return to full service delivery in the Crown Court and to press with them that, as an interim measure, I would like to see the derogations that have been requested for the most serious cases to be dealt with as generously as possible. I also met last week the Public Prosecution Service (PPS), the voluntary and community sector support organisations —
348 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 (0.84).
- 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 | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.84 | 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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