To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs how his Department is adopting a trauma-informed approach when developing policy and legislation.

My Department is working hard to develop and deliver policies and legislation within the context of the draft Programme for Government (2016-2021), using Outcomes Based Approaches to ensure policy making is informed by a sound evidence base and extensive stakeholder engagement, supplemented by rigorous impact assessment. While not explicit, current processes do encompass elements of a trauma informed approach, such as cognisance of impact on marginalised members of the community, collaborative working and intersectionality.

Whilst I have no plans to formally introduce a trauma-informed approach when developing policy and legislation within my Department, I have asked officials to engage with colleagues from other Departments via the NICS Policy Community to obtain information on where this approach is being used within NICS, and the extent to which it would be of relevance to my Department.