To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any plans her Department has to improve public and survivor confidence in the criminal justice system.

It is a key priority for me as Justice Minister to increase public confidence in the justice system and my Department is working with criminal justice partners to deliver a significant body of transformational work to achieve this.

I recognise the importance of tackling delay, as one of the biggest challenges facing the criminal justice system, and as an issue which directly impacts confidence in the system. The Criminal Justice Board has prioritised a programme of work targeted at reducing avoidable delay, which will include full delivery of committal reform, work in the digital arena and early engagement, court remits, and out of court disposals.

I also intend to publish a new Victims and Witnesses of Crime Strategy in the New Year. This is focused on delivering tailored support to victims and witnesses at the right time, and building a balanced, trauma-informed and rights-compliant justice system. One of the strategy’s five pillars is focused on victim rights and raising confidence. The strategy’s Action Plan sets out a detailed programme of work to address the priority areas that were identified through engagement and consultation with victims, witnesses, representative organisations and stakeholders.

In addition, the Victim and Witness Charters set out the entitlements and services that victims and witnesses of crime in Northern Ireland can expect to receive from the criminal justice system. There have been significant efforts to increase awareness of the Charters by my Department, the Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime, and partner organisations. Work is also well advanced on developing a framework for collating and publishing statistical victim data. This will drive performance improvement, but will also help to demonstrate how criminal justice organisations deliver Charter rights, with the aim of increasing transparency and improving confidence.

I also intend to introduce a Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill to the Assembly next April, which will focus on a small number of very significant measures which will have a positive impact on victims and witnesses of crime. The Bill will establish a statutory Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses of Crime to represent all victims and witnesses of crime, with robust legislative powers and duties, and with a focus on identifying systemic issues across the criminal justice system and making recommendations for change. It will also include new provisions and protections for victims and witnesses in cases involving serious sexual offences and others in hate crime cases.

Much work is also being done to protect, support and improve the experiences of particularly vulnerable victims of crime:

measures under the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy are intended to protect those at risk, but also to support increased reporting and reduced attrition, by ensuring that victims know they will be listened to and supported, and that robust measures are in place to hold perpetrators to account;

transformative measures under the Gillen Review are also increasing the confidence of victims of serious sexual crimes. These include:

the introduction of Remote Evidence Centres (RECs) to provide a safe, comfortable space away from the court building for vulnerable witnesses to give evidence directly to the court from a video link room within the REC. Attending the REC also ensures that the witness will not encounter the defendant or the defendant’s family / supporters in or around the court building on the day of the trial. RECs are intended to reduce the stress of giving evidence and increase their confidence. This is supported by conviction rates for REC cases that consistently sit around 90%, and for the whole of last year was 92%.

measures under the Justice (Sexual Offences And Trafficking Victims) NI Act 2022 that make provision for the exclusion of the public from court in serious sexual offence trials and appeal hearings; for the extension of existing lifelong anonymity for victims until 25 years after death; and for increased penalties for breach on anonymity; and

the establishment of the Sexual Offences Legal Adviser (SOLA) scheme to provide publicly funded legal advice to adult complainants in serious sexual offence cases. Since its launch, the scheme has supported over 2,600 adult complainants and has received overwhelmingly positive feedback. An equivalent scheme for children (CSOLA) was launched in February 2025 and has already assisted almost 200 child complainants and their families. Feedback from service users reports that the SOLA scheme has increased their confidence and was a significant influence in their decision to remain engaged with the criminal justice process.

I also recognise that sentencing has an impact on public confidence and I plan to introduce a Sentencing Bill early in the New Year, which will make clear the purposes and principles of sentencing and will rationalise and simplify arrangements for unduly lenient referrals. The Bill will also make provision for a range of other matters, including tariff-setting for murder; create a new offence of assaulting a person who is providing services to the public, performing a public duty or providing a public service; and will increase the maximum penalties for offences of causing death by driving.

I recognise that there are also wider factors that influence public confidence in justice, and so, at a cross-Executive level my officials are working with the Department for Communities, Economy, Education, Health, and the Executive Office to develop a short-term Strategic Framework to deliver tangible outcomes in reducing offending and reoffending before the end of this mandate.

Work is also ongoing with these Departments and with Innovation and Consultancy Services (Department of Finance) to develop a longer-term cross-Executive Strategy, as committed to under the Programme for Government. This is likely to go out to public consultation by the end of the mandate. Given the complex and interrelated socio-economic factors that influence offending— such as homelessness, poverty, mental health, substance misuse, and lack of education and employment opportunities—a collaborative cross-governmental approach is essential. Active and timely participation from each Department will be critical to supporting desistance, achieving long-term change and improving public and survivor confidence.