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The Member probably highlights the most frustrating thing for victims when it comes to holding people on remand. When people are given bail, it can be incredibly frustrating for victims, particularly where they feel vulnerable or under threat. What is even more frustrating is when victims, in cases where they get a…
When we talk about violence against women and girls, we need to be clear that it is by men. When we talk about it in the domestic setting of men and boys, it is mostly by men. We need to be honest about that. For those on remand, who are mostly, in these cases, men, what can we do to put something in place? Very…
The revenge porn legislation in Northern Ireland is reasonably up to date, in the sense that it was first introduced, I think, in 2014-15. It was then further refined, as some of your colleagues who sat on the previous Justice Committee will recall, to include threats to release private materials, which is a form of…
Revenge porn is undeniably a form of sexual abuse that causes significant psychological harm. Will the Minister give her assessment of the current effectiveness of the revenge porn legislation?
As the Member will know, the decisions that are made by the judiciary are entirely independent when it comes to sentencing. However, the issue of sentence credit has been raised by a number of members of the Criminal Justice Board. The determining point is what we consider to be an early plea. Is it on the first day…
Minister, robust sentencing is another tool for ending violence against women and girls. Does the Minister agree that, when it comes to sentence credit, which is a useful tool for getting the guilty to admit their guilt early, leaving it until the last moment to admit guilt while still getting the same credit is quite…
First, we will all want to acknowledge and pay tribute to the invaluable role that the voluntary and community sector plays, not only in providing crucial support to victims and survivors but in bringing collective knowledge, skills and expertise to inform our strategic policy and operational responses. With the…
Thank you, Minister, for your answer. Will funding be provided to the community and voluntary sector to allow it to continue its valuable work on ending violence against women and girls?
Every life lost through violence is an unacceptable tragedy, and I think that we are all rightly and deeply appalled at the increase in incidents of violence against women in recent weeks. All of us must do everything in our power to challenge and change the attitudes and behaviours that treat women's lives as though…
It would be very difficult to suggest that any part of the Ministry is not under financial pressure. As things stand, we have reached the point in the Department of Justice where, when we push down on one cost centre, another one rises. For example, if we decide not to invest in electronic monitoring, we push up the…
I submitted a series of key performance indicators (KPIs) along with my key submissions to the Programme for Government. My Department set out measurable targets that were challenging but achievable. Those will, I think, form part of the annex to the Programme for Government in due course. The Executive are to meet…
Will the Minister confirm whether there will be timed and measurable targets in the final PFG against which her Department's progress can be monitored?
I intend to prioritise them in the manner that I always have. I want to say a couple of things. First and foremost, as I have made clear, if we are going to change the rates of femicide in Northern Ireland and tackle violence against women and girls, we need an Executive-wide approach. It requires, for example,…
I thank the Minister for her answer. Minister, you talked about how the pressures need to be looked at collectively. However, we need to increase police numbers. Sadly, 42 females have been murdered in eight years. We have had an increase in hate crime, and we need to look at prevention and rehabilitation measures.…
My Department contributes to a number of priorities in the draft Programme for Government (PFG). However, my Department's ability to deliver on those priorities is dependent on adequate funding being made available. There will be difficult decisions ahead if we continue to have insufficient budget allocation to meet…
Absolutely. Rehabilitation is and must remain the priority for the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS). Central to that is the infrastructure pillar of the Prisons 25by25 strategy, which aims to ensure that we have a fit-for-purpose and secure prison estate. Outline business case 1 (OBC1) approval was granted by…
Minister, it was probably surprising that the existing kitchen facilities were not blown away in the recent storm. Is it not important, particularly given the role of Magilligan prison in rehabilitation and training, that the facilities train people for jobs and life?
I am perhaps more cognisant than most Ministers of huge budgetary restraints, given that I have been facing them for much longer than most. Even when a surfeit of money was available, the Department of Justice never saw the benefit of it. My officials and I are very aware of the need to achieve value for money. The…
I thank the Minister for her answer and her invitation to visit the facilities, to which I have replied. Minister, I am sure that you will agree that, on the face of it, an investment of £13·3 million in a kitchen and cafe seems excessive. How confident is the Minister that that will deliver value for money? Is she in…
I am satisfied that the planned investment in a new kitchen and cafe at Magilligan prison represents a necessary investment of the limited capital resources made available to my Department. The existing buildings were constructed as a temporary facility and have been in place since 1990. They were designed to provide…
It originated as a Committee amendment at Consideration Stage of the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Bill. While we, as a Department, noted the potential merit of notices and orders, we did not support that amendment because we had significant concerns at the time about including that level of detail in secondary…
The Member's question on the success of various strategies has a number of strands. The first thing is that the rise, if you like, is likely to increase and then level out as people become more familiar with the use of the system. That is why the cost goes from £12 million to £17 million. It is then likely to be…
I am grateful to the Minister for her answer. She will appreciate that, in the current climate, it is important that all options are available to help people who find themselves in such situations. She cited the year-on-year costs, which are, indeed, significant for the Department. Can she outline why that is; the…