Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what information his Department holds on the number of incidents of violence against shop workers in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

The Department does not hold this information.

Following the devolution of policing and justice in April 2010, the majority of statutory functions relating to justice matters were transferred to the Department of Justice.

Due to the current political situation in Northern Ireland, there is no Justice Minister currently in place. In the absence of a Minister, responsibility for Department of Justice matters sits with the Permanent Under Secretary of the Department of Justice to whom the Honourable Member may wish to write to on this matter.