:00:29. > :00:33.Welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up in the next 30 minutes, the National
:00:34. > :00:36.Crime Agency may not have been introduced in Northern Ireland, but
:00:37. > :00:39.today it got the backing of the Assembly.
:00:40. > :00:42.These are problems that are not unique to Northern Ireland.
:00:43. > :00:47.Indeed, they are international issues that demand an international
:00:48. > :00:50.response. The NCA offers that response.
:00:51. > :00:54.The Environment Minister said there'll be no fracking on his
:00:55. > :01:00.watch, but the Enterprise Minister has a different take. This is, and I
:01:01. > :01:04.recognise it as such, a novel and controversial issue and therefore,
:01:05. > :01:09.this matter will be taken to the executive and this will be a matter
:01:10. > :01:13.for the executive as a whole. I'm joined by the Irish News
:01:14. > :01:19.journalist Allison Morris, in the studio.
:01:20. > :01:23.The National Crime Agency was launched a week ago, dubbed the
:01:24. > :01:27.British FBI, it will takele organised and economic crime, border
:01:28. > :01:33.policing, child protection and cyber crime. Here, it's only got limited
:01:34. > :01:39.powers. Sinn Fein and the SDLP blocked moves to give it powers to
:01:40. > :01:42.recruit agents and carry out operations.
:01:43. > :01:45.There were call today for the NCA to be moved to Northern Ireland as
:01:46. > :01:51.quickly as possible. Time has moved on, as has the ability to criminals
:01:52. > :01:56.to at times seemingly be one step ahead of the law. It's of paramount
:01:57. > :02:08.importance therefore that every possible resource that the PSNI can
:02:09. > :02:11.have at that disposal to be one step ahead of the criminals that are
:02:12. > :02:15.involved in this type of activity. Every one of our chemical weapons
:02:16. > :02:19.that rerepresent, Mr Speaker, has the right to expect their
:02:20. > :02:27.representatives to support the work of an agency that's committed to
:02:28. > :02:31.bringing to justice the evil criminals. The minister will know we
:02:32. > :02:37.are working with his department and are meeting with the Home Secretary
:02:38. > :02:42.in relation to our concerns. The concerns are many. It's not just
:02:43. > :02:50.around some of the broader criminal justice families, such as the CAJ,
:02:51. > :02:53.who've said, the proposals of the National Crime Agency in effect
:02:54. > :02:55.insert another Police Service into Northern Ireland, accountable to the
:02:56. > :02:59.Home Secretary and largely outside of the reach of the local
:03:00. > :03:03.accountability structures committed to the following - the pat tonner,
:03:04. > :03:07.in particular the Policing Board. We have a bottom line on this, Mr
:03:08. > :03:11.Speaker, and the bottom line is, the NCA must be accountable to the
:03:12. > :03:16.Policing Board. Nothing less will allay the concerns
:03:17. > :03:21.of the SDLP. I think the whole area's been a test of the devolution
:03:22. > :03:24.of policing and justice. That test has failed thus far.
:03:25. > :03:30.We are currently in a situation where the UK agency dealing with the
:03:31. > :03:37.most serious criminals in not in operation here. A body to set up the
:03:38. > :03:42.exploitation of child, an agency which will robustly pursue the most
:03:43. > :03:50.serious criminals, an organisation with links internationally, this is
:03:51. > :03:53.something I'm proud of. People trafficked into Northern Ireland
:03:54. > :04:00.from across the globe for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude,
:04:01. > :04:04.extortion, money lending, robbery, contraband, burglary and
:04:05. > :04:08.paramilitaries and nearly 4,500 drugs seizures. These are problems
:04:09. > :04:13.that are not unique to Northern Ireland. Indeed, they are internap
:04:14. > :04:17.issues that demand an international response.
:04:18. > :04:23.The NCA offers that response. Working as the Home Office says to
:04:24. > :04:26.can Equitable the efforts -- sect the efforts of local policing and
:04:27. > :04:30.neighbourhood policing to action agencies and action overseas to
:04:31. > :04:36.coordinate the fight against some of the UK's most harmful criminals.
:04:37. > :04:41.Both parties are hampering back to the old RUC. We know what that
:04:42. > :04:45.lesson was, the accountability of it. We know what it meant and in a
:04:46. > :04:52.way they've pointed out what is at the base of this discussion today
:04:53. > :04:56.that on accountability has been saying the experience in the Spas
:04:57. > :05:04.that it will lead to corruption. But they did in the end set up the Good
:05:05. > :05:10.Friday Agreement to St Andrews and indeed to Hillsborough and to the
:05:11. > :05:16.devolution of policing and justice. It's not surprise to me that those
:05:17. > :05:22.who're cronies of Slab Murphy naturally take a stance to disrupt
:05:23. > :05:26.and thwart the NACs. It's a disappointment to me that those on
:05:27. > :05:32.the national side of the community who've stood on the side of law and
:05:33. > :05:37.order do make a choice, that it's more important to dance on the Head
:05:38. > :05:40.of That pin than it is to fight organised crime.
:05:41. > :05:44.I welcome the fact we have had this debate. I work welcome the fact
:05:45. > :05:49.there's been finger pointing across the chime before. There is a lot of
:05:50. > :05:53.agreement about ensuring we have the best possible methods of fighting
:05:54. > :05:56.crime with fullest possible accountability to recognise our
:05:57. > :05:59.specific architecture around policing matters here and that is a
:06:00. > :06:04.significant step forward for what might otherwise have been a very
:06:05. > :06:07.devisive debate. The Justice Minister speaking about
:06:08. > :06:11.the NCA. The motion recognising the concerns of the Chief Constable was
:06:12. > :06:15.passed in the Assembly. With me in the studio is Allison Morris from
:06:16. > :06:17.the Irish News. Welcome to the programme. Thank you very much for
:06:18. > :06:23.joining us. The issues being dealt with by the NCA involve, as we know,
:06:24. > :06:26.international crime, which doesn't respect country's borders. The fear
:06:27. > :06:30.on the part of unionists is that we are going to be left vulnerable if
:06:31. > :06:35.it doesn't operate here. Might they have a point? The kind of crime the
:06:36. > :06:39.NCA was put in place to tackle doesn't respect borders. We have
:06:40. > :06:42.cyber crime also which wouldn't have been an issue ten years ago. There
:06:43. > :06:46.is an international response needed to those types of crimes such as
:06:47. > :06:50.drug trafficking which we know involves lots of cross border crime
:06:51. > :06:54.from different countries and the PSNI wouldn't be in a position to
:06:55. > :06:57.deal with that solely on their own. They have a point in a way. I don't
:06:58. > :07:00.think the parties are arguing there is a need for an international
:07:01. > :07:04.police intervention to help bolster up the PSNI. What they are in
:07:05. > :07:07.arguments over is how that police force wilbe monitored when it's
:07:08. > :07:11.working within Northern Ireland. So it's a question of accountability?
:07:12. > :07:15.It is, yes. Does the critical position in all of this really rest
:07:16. > :07:20.with the Home Secretary in London, Theresa May? Does she hold the key,
:07:21. > :07:24.do you think? She could in that she could I suppose in some way change
:07:25. > :07:27.the legislation in that it could be accountable in some way that it
:07:28. > :07:34.would fall under the Chief Constable's power, therefore it
:07:35. > :07:38.would be accountable to the police board. It operates in England and
:07:39. > :07:42.Wales fine without intervention from say the Welsh Assembly. There will
:07:43. > :07:47.be no accountability there, but the problem is, Northern Ireland is in a
:07:48. > :07:51.unique position. It comes to policing, there'll be agents in the
:07:52. > :07:56.north and in the past, the legacy of what's happened when we've had MI5
:07:57. > :08:00.and Special Branch, that still stings, especially in the
:08:01. > :08:06.nationalist community, where you are seeing a divide, a nationalist
:08:07. > :08:09.divide on the NCA. We saw the Justice Minister and the Home
:08:10. > :08:13.Secretary called upon to introduce aMEPPedments to make the NCA
:08:14. > :08:19.accountable to the police board here. Is that a softening do you
:08:20. > :08:24.think to their position? They are aware they are going to have to be
:08:25. > :08:28.accountable at some time. They are conscious they'll have to be
:08:29. > :08:31.agreeable. The NCA has said they'd meet with the Policing Board
:08:32. > :08:36.regularly. That doesn't mean he has to do anything or has to abide by
:08:37. > :08:41.the conditions they place on him. He still does have the party operating
:08:42. > :08:46.as a sole organisation, assisting the PSNI who obviously, we have seen
:08:47. > :08:50.journalists when we called in mutual assistance officers, they don't have
:08:51. > :08:55.the facilities to deal with the global crimes so they need the
:08:56. > :09:02.backup. Unionists have accused nationalists of rhetoric. Is it more
:09:03. > :09:06.complicated th that? Enit comes to Sinn Fein, yes. When they signed up
:09:07. > :09:09.to policing, it was sold to the nationalist can commune who remember
:09:10. > :09:14.the RUC and the problems that went with that. They sold them on that
:09:15. > :09:17.point that it would always be accountable, that there would be an
:09:18. > :09:21.ombudsman and Policing Board and that the two bodies would be held to
:09:22. > :09:23.account and Sinn Fein would be there on the board holding them to
:09:24. > :09:28.account. Now we have a second police force in the NCA who're going to
:09:29. > :09:34.come in and operate here. What they haven't said is that they are saying
:09:35. > :09:38.drugs, people trafficking, that may involve terrorist activity which,
:09:39. > :09:42.also as we know with regards to drugs and guns, would also involve
:09:43. > :09:45.the NCA and they haven't said what role they are going to have on that.
:09:46. > :09:48.Interesting to hear your thoughts. Talk to you later in the programme.
:09:49. > :09:51.Thank you very much. The First Minister said today
:09:52. > :09:56.there's no question of him taking any sanction against Edwin Putts
:09:57. > :09:59.after a judge ruled the minister broke the ministerial code. Peter
:10:00. > :10:03.Robinson was speaking at the lunch of an exhibition of photographs
:10:04. > :10:07.about human trafficking and started by telling Mark Devonport why the
:10:08. > :10:13.Bill making its way through the Assembly in his view is so
:10:14. > :10:17.important. It's very important and we can give a lead, not just in
:10:18. > :10:24.terms of the UK but more widely than that, that this would be a Bill that
:10:25. > :10:27.I think takes a lead in terms of its provisions, first of all in terms of
:10:28. > :10:32.dealing with traffickers, secondly in relation to the victims and
:10:33. > :10:38.thirdly in trying to diminish the demapped. That's what a lot of the
:10:39. > :10:42.issues are about, showing that human exploitation goes to the vanity and
:10:43. > :10:47.fashion that some people have, young people being exploited within the
:10:48. > :10:52.trade. Also, the sexual exploitation of people and the images are
:10:53. > :10:55.striking and I think it raises the profile of the issue at a time where
:10:56. > :11:00.we are looking for the maximum level of support in the Assembly for the
:11:01. > :11:04.Bill. Let's move to other topics. Is it fair to say, taking your answers
:11:05. > :11:09.in Question Time yesterday into account, that you have full
:11:10. > :11:14.confidence in Edwin Putts despite the recent court judgment? There is
:11:15. > :11:18.no question of that at all. It's not a question of the judgment. The
:11:19. > :11:20.judgment, if it was to be carried into our normal practices in
:11:21. > :11:24.Northern Ireland, would have seen every minister at the executive
:11:25. > :11:31.table having been in breach of the ministerial code. It's a very wide
:11:32. > :11:35.interpretation of the ministerial code, one I think the executive is
:11:36. > :11:40.going to have to look at. Edwin Putts is not the First Minister to
:11:41. > :11:47.be brought before the courts. I didn't hear when Margaret Ritchie
:11:48. > :11:50.was before the courts having defy matters. I didn't hear you or
:11:51. > :11:54.anybody else saying she should be dismissed or punished. This is an
:11:55. > :11:59.issue where there are arguments around it. I suspect it may well go
:12:00. > :12:03.to appeal, even appeal because the GB department might find that some
:12:04. > :12:10.of the ruling has serious implications for devolution itself.
:12:11. > :12:15.You don't see any reason to take any sanction? I dismiss the issues.
:12:16. > :12:19.People will try to bring issues of that kind to the fore. This is not
:12:20. > :12:24.an issue I would take into account in terms of whether the minister
:12:25. > :12:28.should in any way be sanctioned. It's clear the minister acted in
:12:29. > :12:35.good faith. The ruling is such that it indicates that the minister, if
:12:36. > :12:38.he had stopped and banned blood from MSN coming into Northern Ireland
:12:39. > :12:43.from outside, he would not have had the same kind of ruling. The key
:12:44. > :12:48.issue in all of this is the ministerial code of that, it's
:12:49. > :12:51.critical from our point of view, we believe that any major decision, any
:12:52. > :12:53.controversial decision should be brought to the executive. If every
:12:54. > :12:56.decision which is cross cutting, which is virtually any spending
:12:57. > :13:03.decision at all, has to be brought to the executive, and when any
:13:04. > :13:08.minister falls foul. This doesn't change anything either
:13:09. > :13:13.way? Those are issues I'll look at at the end of the year but it has no
:13:14. > :13:16.bearing. Are you concerned about the legal advice that says the clauses,
:13:17. > :13:19.which were part of your economic pact with David Cameron, might fall
:13:20. > :13:23.foul of the European convention on human rights, clauses on the
:13:24. > :13:27.planning bill? The one thing we know is that when you get into the legal
:13:28. > :13:32.system, you will get any number of views that you want on the issues.
:13:33. > :13:36.Ultimately the courts will decide if somebody takes that step and brings
:13:37. > :13:39.it into the courts. The Enterprise Minister was on her
:13:40. > :13:45.feet at Question Time today, as with the Environment Minister yesterday.
:13:46. > :13:50.She was asked about the issue of hydraulic fracturing, fracking to
:13:51. > :13:54.you and me, along with 2 benefits of our booming TV and film industry.
:13:55. > :13:58.She answered a question about the competitive cycling races coming to
:13:59. > :14:02.Northern Ireland first. I make no secret of the fact that I hope the
:14:03. > :14:06.Tour de France does come to Northern Ireland in the near future when they
:14:07. > :14:10.see how well we are able to host it. As the member will know, and I've
:14:11. > :14:15.answered his previous topical question in relation to the area I
:14:16. > :14:18.love and know very well. I have no input into the choice of route. I
:14:19. > :14:21.think that's something that some people got a little excited about,
:14:22. > :14:25.but they shouldn't have, because the route was picked by the
:14:26. > :14:30.professionals, by the people who're planning the route. They had very
:14:31. > :14:32.stringent reasons for why they picked different routes,
:14:33. > :14:37.particularly in relation to time trials and what have you, and
:14:38. > :14:41.therefore we had no impact at all in relation to where the route should
:14:42. > :14:44.go. I wanted to put that on the record to you today because
:14:45. > :14:49.otherwise it would have been coming to county Fermanagh, lets's be
:14:50. > :14:55.honest. Would the minister give us a brief outline of the process
:14:56. > :15:00.required to a granted licence for hydraulic fracturing, or the process
:15:01. > :15:06.just outlined. If the landowners' consent is required for the use of
:15:07. > :15:12.the land... In Northern Ireland, holders of petroleum licences need
:15:13. > :15:19.to obtain the permission of the landowners beneath whose land they
:15:20. > :15:25.wish to drill. The landowners permission is asked for. If it's
:15:26. > :15:30.granted, then that can take place. At present, as I understand it, from
:15:31. > :15:38.the company in counter Fermanagh, they expect to apply to drill a deep
:15:39. > :15:41.borehole to retrieve rock core for analysis. They haven't applied to
:15:42. > :15:45.the department to drill for that hole as yet. What they want to do is
:15:46. > :15:51.take out some of the shale to have a look at it. As yet, that
:15:52. > :15:55.application's not taken place. The US is managed to bring down the
:15:56. > :15:59.price of energy in a dramatic way because of shale gas.
:16:00. > :16:02.They are able now to bring manufacturing back from China and
:16:03. > :16:08.other places across the world. I think we need to take note of that.
:16:09. > :16:14.There's no doubt about it. I listened to the Environment Minister
:16:15. > :16:19.during his Question Time saying that the application wouldn't happen on
:16:20. > :16:25.his watch. I think that was his phrase that he used. I think he
:16:26. > :16:31.needs to reflect on the fact that this is, and I recognise it as such,
:16:32. > :16:35.a novel and controversial issue. Therefore, this matter will be taken
:16:36. > :16:41.to the executive and this will be a matter for the executive sad a whole
:16:42. > :16:45.to decide on, not just from my part, but from his part and every other
:16:46. > :16:48.minister in the Northern Ireland Executive will have to take this mat
:16:49. > :16:52.tore the executive for a decision. That's something that I've known for
:16:53. > :16:58.some considerable time. But it's something that's been really
:16:59. > :17:01.underlined for me by the judgment last Friday of Mr Justice Tracey
:17:02. > :17:08.when he said the issues need to be taken to the executive. Therefore,
:17:09. > :17:11.the decision in relation to hydraulic fracturing, no matter what
:17:12. > :17:14.each individual minister may think about it, the decision needs to be
:17:15. > :17:18.taken by the Northern Ireland Executive. The game of thrones has
:17:19. > :17:21.brought a lot of fume to Northern Ireland. Are there any tourist
:17:22. > :17:26.opportunities that have come from the decision of game of thrones to
:17:27. > :17:32.shoot here? Absolutely. I hadn't realised how
:17:33. > :17:36.internationally thought of the Game of Thrones was, nil was in Brazil
:17:37. > :17:42.talking about tourism opportunities, then I mentioned the fact that in
:17:43. > :17:44.June, the Tourist Board, along with Northern Ireland screen were
:17:45. > :17:48.bringing the Game of Thrones to Belfast, all of a sudden everybody
:17:49. > :17:53.lit up because they were very much aware of the Game of Thrones on HBO.
:17:54. > :18:00.That exhibition took place in June and we are also now developing a
:18:01. > :18:05.tourism trail for the Game of Thrones, so people can see where
:18:06. > :18:08.they are all filmed. As well ass Game of Thrones, there are many
:18:09. > :18:12.other sets across Northern Ireland which can benefit from tourism
:18:13. > :18:19.visits as well, I'm thinking particularly, as you would expect me
:18:20. > :18:22.to, of Blandings, filmed in counter Fermanagh. Already, it's been
:18:23. > :18:26.referred to as Northern Ireland's high Claire which of course is the
:18:27. > :18:29.set of Downton. So we are very pleased there are all of these
:18:30. > :18:35.tourism opportunities, as well as the business opportunities from the
:18:36. > :18:39.creative industries. Arlene Foster.
:18:40. > :18:43.The Finance Minister also faced questions. It was serious stuff as
:18:44. > :18:46.he was asked about the future of the Ulster Bank, whether the help to buy
:18:47. > :18:55.a mortgage scheme would be extended to Northern Ireland and how big an
:18:56. > :18:59.influence the banks is having north of the border...
:19:00. > :19:05.?3.5 billion. They have been, as the member will be aware, selling assets
:19:06. > :19:18.off as they become viable to sell them off. One thing they stressed to
:19:19. > :19:21.me, and we were all concerned about NAMA - we wanted to ensure that the
:19:22. > :19:35.fears we had, there could NAMA - we wanted to ensure that the
:19:36. > :19:42.point out that not only has there been a fire sale, but in order to
:19:43. > :19:50.lend people money, not only have we put ?140,000 into the economy, which
:19:51. > :19:54.has gone forward, we have some significant commercial property in
:19:55. > :19:58.the centre of Belfast as well. The future of Ulster is something we are
:19:59. > :20:02.closely monitoring, not least because of its significant size in
:20:03. > :20:05.Northern Ireland. It is our biggest lending bank in Northern Ireland,
:20:06. > :20:10.despite its problems and the issues it currently has and is still
:20:11. > :20:13.dealing with. It has a 30% plus share of the market in Northern
:20:14. > :20:19.Ireland because it's the only bank that we have that is national Lil
:20:20. > :20:24.owned at UK level. It's frequently the only one that reveals various
:20:25. > :20:28.lending national Nish 'tils. Ulster Bank for all the difficulties it
:20:29. > :20:31.faces and continues to face, it's obviously something we are concerned
:20:32. > :20:35.about, its future. We want to see it operating in Northern Ireland as a
:20:36. > :20:38.property functioning bank. It's incredibly critical to our economy
:20:39. > :20:42.that the bank does function properly and is able to get loans out to
:20:43. > :20:44.businesses so they can start to grow and employ people in Northern
:20:45. > :20:50.Ireland. The help to buy mortgage guarantee
:20:51. > :20:56.scheme is now rolled out in the UK and has been taken up by a few of
:20:57. > :21:00.the big high street banks. The likes of RBS, although not the Ulster
:21:01. > :21:06.Barnett, though I understand they are considering it - - Ulster Bank.
:21:07. > :21:13.Halifax as well who lend in Northern Ireland, and recently Barclays have
:21:14. > :21:18.joined the scheme. Nationwide are the only big mortgage
:21:19. > :21:24.lender not now part of the help to buy mortgage guarantee scheme.
:21:25. > :21:29.It is an attractive scheme in that the Government will guarantee up to
:21:30. > :21:33.15% of a property, meaning that only 5% of a mortgage deposit is required
:21:34. > :21:39.from those who might want to get on to the property ladder. I think this
:21:40. > :21:42.scheme, on top of the highly successive and well-funded
:21:43. > :21:45.co-attorneyship scheme, does have potential that a system of recovery
:21:46. > :21:52.of the housing market. If there is a scheme which has the potential to
:21:53. > :21:55.help, people get on to the housing market, it would be a shame if that
:21:56. > :21:59.scheme, which is operating, functioning already, in mainland
:22:00. > :22:04.Great Britain, is not operating in Northern Ireland because local banks
:22:05. > :22:08.aren't joining it. Can I ask the minister what will he do to prevent
:22:09. > :22:13.further interventions and major capital protests to create jobs in
:22:14. > :22:18.our local economy? There was a major party political
:22:19. > :22:21.intervention in the form of the members colleague, the member for
:22:22. > :22:25.Belfast, Mr Kelly, which did more damage to the peace centre in that
:22:26. > :22:29.project going forward than anything else nub else did. Before the member
:22:30. > :22:34.wishes to criticise others, perhaps he should look at the actions of
:22:35. > :22:36.some of his open colleagues in that respect.
:22:37. > :22:40.Earlier this month, the performance of two of Northern Ireland's prisons
:22:41. > :22:43.with was called into question. A criminal justice inspection made a
:22:44. > :22:48.report of 150 recommendations for improvements at the women's prison
:22:49. > :22:51.and young offenders centre in Belfast. There were criticisms of
:22:52. > :22:55.the approach to tackling drugs and the excess of strip searching of
:22:56. > :22:58.women prisoners. The findings were brought before the chamber today in
:22:59. > :23:02.a Sinn Fein motion calling on the Justice Minister to ensure the
:23:03. > :23:06.prison reform programme moves forward. The 2010 review of the
:23:07. > :23:09.Prison Service made reference to the fact that women and young adults are
:23:10. > :23:17.poorly served by the prison system which has created primarily to serve
:23:18. > :23:28.the needs of adult men. This particular prison is a poor prison
:23:29. > :23:35.for women. Women prisoners form a small proportion of prisoners. Many
:23:36. > :23:38.have mental health problems. Many have dependent children and are
:23:39. > :23:42.often the sole careers and many problems emanate as a result of that
:23:43. > :23:46.for the children and for the women. Women are much less likely to
:23:47. > :23:50.reoffend when compared with men, only 20% are re-convicted.
:23:51. > :23:55.There are a number of things that have been happening which cause me
:23:56. > :24:00.concern and my party. That is the breakdown in the relaitionzship
:24:01. > :24:04.between the management and the staff associations the minister refers to
:24:05. > :24:08.as being important at taking forward a changed programme. I spoke with
:24:09. > :24:13.the chairman of the Prison Officers' Association this morning. I'll not
:24:14. > :24:16.repeat some of the rang wadge, by need toless, it was evident to me
:24:17. > :24:43.that that relationship between the staff associations and the prison
:24:44. > :24:45.management is non-existent -- language.
:24:46. > :24:48.There was a feeling by some of the staff that they are getting the
:24:49. > :24:51.wrong end of the stick in this and they are getting a lot of the
:24:52. > :25:01.criticism that's unjustified to them. The Chief Inspector in his
:25:02. > :25:04.report used this paragraph; "overall, this is a disappointing
:25:05. > :25:10.inspection, in particular because women continue to be held in a
:25:11. > :25:16.predominantly male prison which was having a significant and intractable
:25:17. > :25:20.impact upon outcomes and experience. Women were reasonably well cared for
:25:21. > :25:24.but they were inevitably marginalise and restricted in access to
:25:25. > :25:28.facilities and service. There was also evidence of intimidation from
:25:29. > :25:35.male prisoners from time to time. " Only, and I emphasise this point,
:25:36. > :25:40.only the long promise closure and replacement of the prison would
:25:41. > :25:42.resolve the problems we see. We mustn't forget this is a reform
:25:43. > :25:47.agenda put in place by the minister that has delivered sentence plans
:25:48. > :25:51.for all offenders. Now the plans are in place for everyone, it's quite
:25:52. > :25:55.right that we look at the further improvements that can be made. What
:25:56. > :25:58.we mustn't lose sight of is the fact that we have come from a situation
:25:59. > :26:05.where there were no plans for offenders at all. Mr Speaker, it's
:26:06. > :26:08.clear that we also need to continue to develop unknow straitive
:26:09. > :26:11.approaches to deal with women prisoners whose needs are very
:26:12. > :26:16.different from their male counterparts. Those involved in the
:26:17. > :26:22.delivery of activities were frustrated at the lack of resources
:26:23. > :26:27.and activities in the youth offenders centre. There was no
:26:28. > :26:31.planned approach for activities. Everything was dis-I didn't
:26:32. > :26:34.isjointed which resulted in young people's disinterest in taking up
:26:35. > :26:43.activities. This has been confirmed in the report.
:26:44. > :26:47.in thereport. report.
:26:48. > :26:52.S problem is the cancellation of things at the last minute. The
:26:53. > :26:58.Government told us themselves that if the prison is down five or six
:26:59. > :27:03.staff, the prison has problems. That will be a major impact on the
:27:04. > :27:10.educational activities. The overall rating of Ash House was heavily
:27:11. > :27:15.influenced by the YOC. The physical conditions were good
:27:16. > :27:20.and clean. I certainly agree and have done for
:27:21. > :27:31.a long time, that the co-lowcation of female offenders is far from the
:27:32. > :27:35.ideal -- colocation. Many people inside and outside Government are
:27:36. > :27:39.working to make changes realities. I'm greatly encouraged by the work
:27:40. > :27:45.being done to reform our prisons. As with any major reform programme, the
:27:46. > :27:50.challenge is to see the work through to April 2015 and to ensure the
:27:51. > :27:52.progress that's being made to date continues.
:27:53. > :27:57.The Justice Minister who had a busy day today. Allison Morris is with me
:27:58. > :28:01.again. We saw the First Minister in the programme earlier continuing to
:28:02. > :28:06.support the Health Minister, Edwin Putts. We shouldn't be surprised at
:28:07. > :28:15.that? No, he obviously still has the support of his leader. He was
:28:16. > :28:26.advised by his own advisers on the situation of giving blood in the
:28:27. > :28:31.High Court. Peter Robinson has said that. We have a minister totally
:28:32. > :28:36.unaccountable to someone. Decisions that are going against public
:28:37. > :28:40.opinion and equality practices and regardless of that, he seems to be
:28:41. > :28:44.able to get away with it. Thank you very much.
:28:45. > :28:47.That is it from all of us. Join me for The View on Thursday night.
:28:48. > :28:53.Thanks for watching. Bye.