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 5348606
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I said earlier that I did not really want to enter into a negotiation in public on this. Refresher fees are certainly a part of it. Actually, I think that that will be the bit that will be much more readily resolved. There is the issue of government legal services rates, which is something that was raised in the Chamber during the discussion that we had on the subject last week. They do not apply in the Crown Court in criminal cases. That is also something that has been raised, and we have said that, given the right evidence base, we are happy to look at that. There are a number of other issues, including an uplift to the fee structure that is there, but, again, that requires evidence to demonstrate that it is justifiable, affordable and necessary. There are other issues that we are dealing with. For example, when cases go to the Court of Appeals, they go through a process of taxation where someone submits their bill to the taxing master and it is adjusted there. That is not a particularly transparent process. The Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee have raised issues about the lack of transparency, which is something that we want to reform. However, that is not part of the current discussion. I am looking for things that I believe we can expedite and that are already on the agreed road map that we all sat down and agreed in December. If we can expedite some of those to get the CBA back into court to give full service, the other issues will be dealt with in due course. It has not damaged the Solicitors' Criminal Bar Association in the slightest that it has continued to provide services to its clients throughout the dispute. In fact, because it has done that side by side with providing us with evidence, it has actually managed to get some wins across the line, whereas the CBA has not provided the evidence to allow us to do the same for it.
345 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 | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.04 | 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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