To ask the Minister of Justice for an update on her plans to introduce a Sentencing Bill.

Mrs Long

With your permission Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 6 and 11 together. I received Executive approval to the proposed content of my sentencing Bill on 19 December 2024. The Bill will deliver on a number of the recommendations arising from my Department’s public consultation on a review of sentencing policy. It will also make provision for Charlotte’s law, introducing measures to encourage disclosure of the location of victims' remains in no-body murder cases, and introduce a statutory aggravator model for hate crime offences. My officials are engaged with the Office of the Legislative Counsel (OLC), and the process of drafting the provisions for the Bill is under way. It is intended that the Bill will be introduced in the Assembly before the end of 2025.

Mrs Dillon

I thank the Minister for that answer. I am glad to hear that the sentencing Bill will finally be coming to the House, because it is really important. Can you give us some sense of what will be included in the Bill? I am really happy to hear that Charlotte's law will be included, but, when it comes to violence against women and girls, what else will be included? Some recent sentences for serious crimes against women and girls have been nothing short of absolutely disgraceful.

Mrs Long

Again, I do not want to give opinions on sentencing for crimes against women and girls. I can, however, tell you what will and will not be in the Bill. There will be a statement of the principles and purposes of sentencing; provision to allow the further use of community sentences; 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 an increase in the maximum penalties for offences causing death by dangerous driving. There will also be measures to encourage the disclosure of the location of victims' remains, which I referred to earlier, that will be known as "Charlotte's law" and the provision of a statutory aggravator for hate crimes. Those measures are based on the 2016-17 review of sentencing, and considerable work has gone into getting the legislative proposals in place. In tandem with that, however, I plan to launch a further review of sentencing that may pick up on some of the issues that the Member has raised.

Mrs Long

My Department is planning a review of further sentencing issues that have emerged in recent years, particularly those that have emerged since we went through significant legislative change in the previous mandate in relation to domestic abuse and sexual violence. Several issues have been identified for consideration, including the use of character references, particularly in domestic and sexual violence trials; sentencing for serious sexual offences; sentencing guideline mechanisms; and sentences for drug offences. The review will also consider recommendations arising from the recent review of sentencing in England and Wales and, hopefully, lead to a further sentencing Bill at some future point.

Mr Brett

The Minister will be aware of my support and, I believe, that of the public for the introduction of Harper's law in Northern Ireland, which would require a mandatory life sentence for those convicted of killing a front-line officer, be that through murder or manslaughter. Last summer, in response to a question for written answer, the Minister told me that she had asked her officials to look at that matter when scoping out the Bill. Does she have an update on that?

Mrs Long

First, every person who is guilty of manslaughter or murder receives a mandatory life sentence. The issue is the length of the tariff that is attached to that sentence before they can be considered for parole. In Northern Ireland, for good reason, we do not have whole-life sentences, which is the model that some are looking for on this issue. The Department has looked at the matter, and I am more than happy to meet the Member to discuss it in more detail. I have some sympathy with the concerns that people have. When you attack, fatally or otherwise, someone who is providing a public service, such as a police officer, you are attacking not only that police officer but the community that they are there to protect and serve. Therefore, it is important that we recognise the impact on the wider community when such events take place.