To ask the Minister of Justice to outline any legislative proposals currently proceeding following the Sentencing Policy Review in Northern Ireland announced in 2016.

ORAL QUESTION No 11 - AQO 2366/22-27

ANSWER

With your permission Mr Speaker I will answer Questions 11 and 14 together.

The Sentencing Bill will deliver on a number of the recommendations arising from my Department’s review of sentencing policy which commenced in 2016, the findings of which were subject to public consultation in 2019. This will include:

a statement of the principles and purposes of sentencing;

provision to allow further use of community community-based sanctions in sentencing;

statutory starting points for life sentence tariff calculation;

expansion and simplification of the current unduly lenient sentence referral provisions;

creation of a new offence of assaulting those providing a service to the public or performing a public duty;

creation of a statutory aggravator for vulnerable victims; and

increasing maximum penalties for offences causing death by driving.

The Bill will also include measures to encourage the disclosure of the location of victims’ remains, to be known as “Charlotte’s Law”, and provision for a statutory aggravator for hate crimes.

I received Executive approval to the proposed content of my Sentencing Bill on the 19 December 2024. It is intended that the Bill will be introduced to the Assembly before the end of 2025.

In relation to cases of death by dangerous driving, the Bill will ensure that disqualification from driving is served after release from custody.

The grant or refusal of bail when a person is awaiting trial should always be based on the facts of the case.

Any decision to refuse bail should only be taken where this can be justified under domestic legislation and in compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Any decisions on bail or remand into custody in individual cases are, therefore, matters for the independent courts and judiciary and are not matters that involve me or my Department.

There are no current plans to include new guidance on the granting of bail in the forthcoming Sentencing Bill; however, it is a matter which I intend to keep under review.