To ask the Minister of Justice whether she has any plans to amend The Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 to provide for the recommendations relating to consent outlined in the Gillen Review.

I fully support Sir John Gillen’s conclusion in his Review of the Law and Procedures in Serious Sexual Offences that legislative steps need to be taken to underpin the key principle of consent as defined in Article 3 of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008: “A person consents if he agrees by choice, and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice”. The Review made a number of recommendations as to how this might be achieved.

I remain committed to developing the relevant policy and legislative proposals in this current mandate.