Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice on public confidence in sentencing decisions in Northern Ireland; and whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system.

It is important that there is confidence in the justice system. I regularly meet with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice to discuss areas of mutual interest and concern.

Policing and justice, with the exception of national security, are devolved matters. As such, I understand that the Minister of Justice has introduced the Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc) Bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly, which aims to create more stringent sentences for a range of offences.