Justice Minister Naomi Long plans to add important policies to Justice Bill 2024 only after committee examination is 'bad practice', says chairperson
It is ‘bad practice’ for the Justice Minister to plan on adding six policies to draft legislation – but only after her scrutiny committee has already examined it, an MLA says.
Those were the claims by the chair of the Stormont Justice Committee Joanne Bunting after Justice Minister Naomi Long introduced the Justice Bill 2024 to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Ms Long said: “The Bill will allow for the development of a framework for the retention of biometric material, including DNA and fingerprints. This will mean such material will no longer be kept indefinitely and a review of current retained material will be carried out.
"The Bill will also allow for the appointment of a new commissioner in Northern Ireland to provide important oversight of the new framework and review process.”
The bill will also ensure that young people in the criminal justice system are only held in youth facilities.
The minister set out six amendments which she said had been agreed by the Executive to be added at consideration stage – that is, only after the Justice Committee has examined the bill.
These include;- accreditation for Restorative Justice organisations; shortening rehabilitation periods for offenders and allowing more convictions to be become spent; facilitating wider use of video and audio-conferencing systems in courts; streamlining maintenance and understanding of 1200+ sexual and violent offences that cannot be filtered from disclosure certificates by AccessNI; repeal of vagrancy legislation and tackling people involved in serious organised crime.
However chair of the Justice Committee, Joanne Bunting said she had concerns.
"It is disappointing that the Minister intends to bring forward several major and significant policy areas by way of amendments rather than including them in the bill from the outset," she said.
"This is bad practice and will impact the committee's ability to and scrutinise the bill."
Fellow Committee member Doug Beattie MLA expressed concern that the bill would lead to the loss of biometric information such as DNA and fingerprints from serious criminals.
"As this Bill means such material will no longer be kept indefinitely it is important to fully scrutinise the review of current retained material rules," he said.
But Alliance Justice Committee Member Stewart Dickson welcomed the bill.
"Today’s introduction of the Justice Bill is a further welcome step by the Justice Minister to modernise the justice system,” he said.
“If fully enacted, it will improve the experience of victims and witnesses across the justice system, and make it more effective for everyone using it.”