To ask the Minister of Justice to outline the action her Department is taking to address the median 630 days for processing sexual offence cases in Northern Ireland courts.

The timely progression of criminal cases is central to the effective delivery of justice and delays can have significant consequences for victims, defendants, and for public confidence in the system. While efforts are ongoing to reduce avoidable delay, some types of cases can take significantly longer to conclude.

Sexual offence cases due to their serious nature often tend to be prosecuted in the Crown Court which generally involves a longer process. Whilst the most recent available data demonstrates these cases are currently take longer to complete than any other offence category, there has been a gradual improvement in case processing times. Median durations have reduced from 757 days in 2022–23, to 675 in 2023–24, and now 630 in 2024–25, which is a reduction of nearly 17% over three years. While this progress is encouraging, I recognise there is much more to do.

It is important to understand the underlying reasons why these cases can take longer to conclude. They are among the most complex cases with several factors contributing to the longer case durations observed:

They include significant volumes of evidence, including growing use of digital evidence.

Where they are historical offences, the time between the alleged incident and its reporting can create additional challenges in building the case, securing corroborating evidence, and supporting victims and witnesses through the process.

Serious sexual offences are rightly subject to rigorous process and therefore are predominantly heard in the Crown Court - 57.1% of cases were disposed there in 2023–24. This reflects both the seriousness and complexity of these cases and includes additional procedural stages such as committal from the magistrates’ courts. These steps contribute to the overall case duration. In contrast, other offence types are more likely to be prosecuted in the magistrates’ courts. Therefore, while sexual offence cases may appear to take longer to complete, comparisons between across offence types can be misleading without accounting for the level of court in which they are heard. It is more appropriate to assess trends over time within an offence category.

My Department and justice colleagues are currently engaged in a programme of work targeted at reducing avoidable delay across the system. This work is driven by the Criminal Justice Board and takes forward existing work on Committal Reform, existing and emerging work in the digital arena and explores other areas for efficiencies such as Early Engagement between key stakeholders to help drive case progression, increased sentencing powers for magistrates’ courts and expanding the use of Out of Court Disposals. My Department has also recently been successful in a bid to secure Transformation funding which will help to drive forward work in relation to Early Engagement and Out of Court Disposals.

Taken together, these reforms aim to rebalance the justice system, ensuring a more proportionate approach to offending, and freeing up capacity to focus on the most serious cases. I recognise there is more we need to do, both in sexual offences and more broadly, to improve case processing times, and remain committed, alongside my justice partners, to driving forward the changes needed.