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The Health Minister and I are jointly commissioning an external independent review into the law and procedures on unfitness to plead, including trials of the facts. The review responds to my concerns about whether the current arrangements are fair to defendants and victims and provide adequate protection for the…
I have regular meetings with the Criminal Bar Association and the Law Society. Indeed, I am due to meet both, or at least the Criminal Bar Association, within the next week. We will continue to do that. My officials continue to work closely with both organisations to ensure that we make the changes that are required.…
I commissioned the accelerated review of criminal legal aid in the interests of victims and witnesses who were affected by the withdrawal, and, in their interests, have continued to prioritise that implementation. Consultation on the proposed changes issued promptly on 26 June and closed on 21 August. Officials are…
As I said, listing lies with the judiciary. Many factors affect listing, not all of which lie within my Department. As you know, we have the speeding up justice programme, which is there to try to ensure that the time that is taken from first charge to the case being disposed of in court is reduced. That work is…
I thank the Minister for that update. We understand the complexity of the challenge that is in front of her on that. What target date have you set your Department for attempting to clear the remaining Crown Court cases that were delayed as a result of the dispute with members of the Criminal Bar Association?
The unwarranted and unnecessary withdrawal of services by the CBA has caused significant damage to the justice system. It has damaged the efforts and progress that we were already making to reduce delay. More importantly, it has damaged the victims, witnesses and defendants in the system, whom it is supposed to serve.…
There are some in political unionism — I say "some" — who want it to be yesterday, and that is not available to them. They want the days of domination and the days of the Orange state. That is not available to them. What we need to do is build on the progress of the past 28 years, keep our eyes focused on the future…
I thank the First Minister for that response. Does she agree that political unionism is clearly being led by the nose by those who are trying their best to drag our society back to the past, and that they will not achieve that?
I absolutely agree with the Member. For almost 30 years, the people of the Garvaghy Road lived in relative peace. They had spent years picking up the pieces after the trauma that was inflicted on them 28 years ago. They had spent all those years making progress and building good, strong community relations. Then,…
The hypocrisy hanging out of the DUP is incredible. There is hypocrisy all day long. I have said that I own my decision to stand with the Garvaghy Road residents. I am proud to have done so, and I will continue to do so. I will deal with whatever processes come my way, but you are not my judge or my jury. You do not…
First Minister, figures that I have acquired from the Department of Justice show that, in the past 10 years, of the 73 people convicted for obstructing a public road, four received custodial sentences, four received community sentences and 52 received monetary penalties. Which of those options do you think that you…
You are being quite insulting to your constituent who needs a hospital appointment. You would be better advised to fight to get them access to the health service. You would be better advised to tell your constituent that you championed an unwanted Orange march down the Garvaghy Road. We are here to try to make a…
Yes, I am happy to do so. As I said, I will talk to departmental officials and bring up the point that you have raised. All those matters have to be considered. We need to listen to the experiences of women who find themselves in situations in which they feel quite frightened. We need to learn lessons and apply them…
I thank the First Minister for that. It is something that came to light as we talked about violence against women and girls. It is a topical issue on which the Government can work together. Will the First Minister commit to keeping everybody updated on the matter and, in particular, to engaging with the Commissioner…
I am happy to take that question on board and ask it. In the whole area of ending violence against women and girls, we are very lucky to have such cross-party and cross-departmental efforts being made. Where practical measures can be put in place to make women safer, particularly in taxis, we should explore them. I am…
Yes, I absolutely agree with that. The DUP announced its review almost four months ago, and we still have not seen it. We need to know when the findings will be published. There are very serious questions that need to be answered. We have heard about the warning signs — that may be an understatement — of inappropriate…
Further to the point that the First Minister made about protecting victims and calling out violence against women and girls, does she agree with calls for the DUP and the UUP to publish their reviews of Jeffrey Donaldson in full?
Yes. In continuation of my response to the previous question, I say that tackling violence against women and girls right across our society is an area that the Executive have rightly focused on. In answer to the Member's question, first, I express my solidarity with the victims of Jeffrey Donaldson. We are all in awe…
That is a fair assessment. The work in this phase has been to do with young boys, but the Member has made a very valid point. We cannot, on the one hand, say that it is a whole-of-society problem without having a whole-of-society response. Therefore, everybody has to play their part in that. I am very happy to take…
I thank the First Minister for her answer. As she said, the research focuses on young boys, particularly those aged between 16 and 24. However, as we have seen in recent court cases, it is not just young boys who are violent in making sexual advances towards young women. Will she commit to carry out work that looks at…
Both junior Ministers attended that event. We have only received the report, so I do not have a fulsome response for you. The purpose of the report is to inform our work. As the Member knows, the second phase of our ending violence against women and girls strategy is focused on young boys and our working with them,…
I will say this: my responsibility is to try to get the right Budget, which is what I am actively engaged in. We had numerous meetings last week, and we will have more this week. We understand that we need to get the Budget agreed. We cannot, however, agree to a Budget that does not cut it and does not allow us to…