To ask the Minister of Justice how she is ensuring consistent collection and analysis of data on domestic abuse against older people, including age-specific patterns and barriers to reporting.

The Department of Justice collates information in relation to prosecutions, convictions and out of courts disposals in relation to domestic abuse. However, these datasets do not contain information on victim age, in relation to older people.

The Department also commissions the Northern Ireland Safe Community Survey, which had included a self-completion module to capture respondents’ experiences of domestic abuse. The module had to be suspended due to a change in survey mode as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A further change in mode from 2024/25 means the module has been reinstated and will be included biennially going forward, though the changes have impacted the comparability of findings from the survey. Breakdowns by age would also be subject to sufficient sample size.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland record information in relation to domestic abuse related offences reported to them. Issues around recording and analysis of data recorded by police is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

You may, therefore, wish to direct any query relating to the recording and analysis of police data, as raised in the question, to the PSNI.

Looking forward, my Department plans to take forward additional work in partnership with the community and voluntary sector, and with officials in the Executive Office, to explore how we can better utilise the data held across various sectors. This collaborative work will be taken forward under the multi-year action plan stemming from the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy. By taking this joined up approach, we aim to enhance our understanding of the nature and scale of domestic abuse in Northern Ireland.