To ask the Minister of Justice to provide an update on the future of Limavady Courthouse.

Mrs Long

Limavady courthouse has been closed since March 2020, with its business currently transferred to Coleraine. Prior to the building's closure, it operated as a hearing centre and was open one day a week for the delivery of Magistrates’ Court business. The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service's (NICTS) estate strategy, published in December 2023, provides a long-term framework for investment over the next decade and beyond. To implement the strategy, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service is using data and evidence to baseline the existing estate against the agreed strategic outcomes; assess the adequacy of its buildings; and, in the context of the finite resources available, develop prioritised investment plans that will be subject to public consultation, as appropriate. The future use of Limavady courthouse forms part of that process.

Mrs Long

First, we have to make sure that those courthouses are accessible in the most basic sense, and many of them, unfortunately, are not fit for purpose. Many of the protections that we would wish to put in place — for example, for vulnerable victims and witnesses — are not possible, because everyone enters through the one door at the front of the courthouse, meaning that we cannot segregate in the way that is normally expected in some of our more recently opened, purpose-built facilities. Limavady courthouse is the smallest courthouse in our estate, and, since 2002, it has heard only adult Magistrates' Court business. In 2023-24, only 476 cases were received by Limavady Magistrates' Court, and, historically, it has had the lowest business volumes in the court estate, which is one of the reasons why it was previously open for only a single day each week. However, it is right to say that access to justice will be one of the crucial issues in the decision-making process, but it has to be looked at in the round, including whether access to the buildings can be compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act and whether people live adjacent to them.

Ms Ferguson

I previously asked about Derry courthouse, Minister, and you mentioned the potential for an additional extension and refurbishment. When can we expect a firm timeline or resourcing commitments, given the ongoing need to ensure adequate access to a modern justice system in the north-west?

Mrs Long

As the Member will know, our initial thoughts were that we would not be able to provide the service at the current Bishop Street location, simply due to the constrained nature of the site and the listed status of the building. The plan had been to provide a new facility for the north-west.

However, fortuitously, we have been able to obtain enough land beside the courthouse to allow us to reconfigure business, so we should be able to provide that kind of modern facility. The process is still in its early stages, but I will be quick to let the Member know once we have a firmer set of propositions. Again, that is part of the overall estates strategy that we have to work our way through. A number of our court buildings are old but are grade 1 and grade 2 listed and therefore need to be refurbished. Parts of the court estate are distributed into accommodation that we have to pay for whilst we have accommodation that is deteriorating rapidly through lack of use. We need to look at the whole strategy to make sure that we make best use of the buildings that we have; ensure that those that are genuinely historic buildings are maintained properly; and, crucially, ensure that we are able to maintain a justice system that works in tandem with the estate to provide people with the best possible service.

Mr Speaker

We now move to topical questions.