Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
I have only just started watching 'Adolescence', so I do not want to comment on whether it is age-appropriate for pupils. I understand that the content is particularly triggering and quite traumatic. The Member is quite right, however, on a wider point: we need to have a range of resources and tools that are relatable…
Early intervention is important in the prevention of sexual offences. The Minister will be aware of the recent show 'Adolescence', which touches on the complex issue of the radicalisation of young men online from harmful, misogynistic attitudes. Does she agree that that important show should be shown in schools? Will…
Costs for the project have not yet been finalised, but it is very likely that additional funding will be required to introduce automated case tracking and appropriate recording and editing equipment, as well as for the arrangements and staffing needed to launch the pathfinder project to which I referred earlier. There…
I do not have the final figure for the number of recommendations that have been either progressed or substantively completed. I can, however, assure the Member that, at this time, the percentage is well over 70%, and heading towards 80%, and there will be further developments as part of the victims and witnesses Bill…
I thank the Minister for her answer. That is just one of 253 recommendations from the Gillen review, the report of which was published in 2019 and led to the 2020 implementation plan. How many of the Gillen review recommendations remain outstanding? When are we likely to see the full implementation of the accepted…
My Department has been working with partners and stakeholders to develop arrangements to test pre-recorded cross-examination (PRCE) in response to the Gillen review report recommendation. Significant progress has been made through a cross-organisational PRCE working group. For example, a draft process map has been…
Community service is indeed a good solution in justice, not just in the youth justice system but in the adult justice system. We talk a lot about restorative justice, but one of the elements of restorative justice is paying back the community from which you have come and to which you have caused harm. There is an…
Thank you, Minister. I am sure that you will agree that community service is a useful tool in the youth justice system. Will the Minister consider what more can be done to partner youth justice with appropriate charities to expose these young people to the amazing work that they do?
In the past three years, an average of 1·7% of all community orders made in the Youth Court were community service orders. The figures for the individual years were 1·7% in 2021, 0·8% in 2022 and 2·7% in 2023. Those figures relate to cases where the main disposal was a community order. The figures are for initial…
At the moment, we are not aware when these may crystallise, so we are still in a situation where there are exceptional pressures of around £227 million. The data breach is just one of those, and the Member has rightly identified holiday pay and McCloud. They will also impact on other Departments. That £227 million is…
The Member's original question sought the up-to-date position on the data breach. However, as the Minister referenced, there is also the McCloud judgement and the holiday pay situation. Could the Minister perhaps give us the most up-to-date position on each of those elements and any information that there may be on…
That is information that I do not hold. The PSNI may, however, hold it, and I would be happy were the Member to contact the Chief Constable directly to ask that question.
At the moment, I am not in a position to discuss what I intend to make bids for under June monitoring. Obviously, that will be contingent on the PSNI bringing to me a strong case for any bids that, it feels, should be taken forward. My focus is twofold. The first is to deal with the current business case, which has…
I raise the matter because the issue of Treasury reserve funding will have an impact on PSNI resources. The issue of resources was mentioned in the Programme for Government consultation by the Chief Constable, who said that the resource for neighbourhood policing is shrinking. Will the Minister confirm whether she…
I have been eagerly awaiting this one. This is something that both the current and previous Finance Ministers have raised with Treasury. I understand that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has not agreed that there will be access to the reserve for these costs at this time. However, we will continue to jointly make…
Thus far, my understanding is that, where the probation service has had to live within its budget, it has focused on, for example, the reporting to courts, so pre-sentencing reports to courts have slowed down somewhat in order to maintain the level of supervision that is required of those sex offenders and others who…
On funding as a whole, will the Minister outline the effects on sex offender monitoring and visits due to the insufficient resources for her Department?
The contract that we have can be expanded to include GPS monitoring, and so we were prepared for this. Whether or not we were successful in the transformation bid, we were prioritising this in the Department. The fact that we have been successful with the transformation bid simply means that we do not now need to take…
I am coning in on electronic monitoring. As you said, it was part of the transformation bid. The Department has recently given a new contract to Buddi to look at monitoring across the board, and it was said that funding was the issue with electronic GPS. Can you confirm whether there is now a timeline with the new…
Some £20·45 million will be used to support work to speed up and transform the criminal justice system, which is a key departmental commitment in the Programme for Government. The remaining £2·19 million will help to modernise our electronic monitoring systems. The funding for speeding up justice focuses largely on…
I am delighted that my Department was successful in its bid for transformation funding, which is worth £22·64 million over five years. The funding will be used on efforts to speed up and transform the criminal justice system and to modernise electronic monitoring. Justice is demand-led, with funding, quite…