Concurrent Committee of the Committee for Justice and the Committee for Health
Minutes of Proceedings - 7 November 2024
Senate Chamber, Parliament Buildings, Belfast
Present:
Joanne Bunting MLA (Chairperson)
Liz Kimmins MLA (Deputy Chairperson)
Maurice Bradley MLA
Alan Chambers MLA
Stewart Dickson MLA
Linda Dillon MLA
Danny Donnelly MLA
Ciara Ferguson MLA
Deirdre Hargey MLA
Nuala McAllister MLA
Colin McGrath MLA
Justin McNulty MLA
Alan Robinson MLA
Present by Video or Teleconference:
Stephen Dunne MLA
Diane Dodds MLA
Sinéad Ennis MLA
Órlaithí Flynn MLA
Apologies:
Doug Beattie MLA
In Attendance:
Keith McBride (Committee Clerk)
Caroline Perry (Committee Clerk)
Thomas McKillop (Senior Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Roisin Donnelly (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Angela McParland (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Jonny Redpath (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Jonathan Lamont (Clerical Supervisor)
Mark McConnell (Clerical Supervisor)
Stephen McGlennon (Clerical Officer)
Aaron Pakenham (Clerical Officer)
The meeting commenced at 2.17pm in public session.
The Chairperson welcomed Members to the concurrent meeting of the Committee for Justice and the Committee for Health.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that the oral evidence session with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the oral evidence session with the Department of Justice and the Department of Health should be reported by Hansard.
1. Apologies
As above.
2. Declaration of Interests
Linda Dillon declared an interest as a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
Nuala McAllister declared an interest as a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
Joanne Bunting declared an interest in relation to an immediate family member who works in the legal profession.
Alan Robinson declared an interest in relation to an employee in his office who is also a call handler.
Deirdre Hargey declared an interest in relation to an immediate family member who fosters.
Danny Donnelly declared an interest as a registered nurse at the Ulster Hospital.
Liz Kimmins declared an interest in relation to being on a career break from the South Eastern Trust.
3. Right Care, Right Person — Police Service of Northern Ireland
Assistant Chief Constable, Ryan Henderson; Chief Superintendent and Branch Head of the Justice Department, Gary McDonald; and the Principal/Head of the Justice Healthcare Branch, Una Williamson, joined the meeting at 2.21pm.
The Chairperson advised Members that the purpose of the concurrent meeting was to take oral evidence on the Right Care, Right Person operational model from the PSNI, and take oral evidence on the model and collaborative working from the Department of Justice and the Department of Health.
The Committee noted the procedures and arrangements in place for the concurrent Committee meeting.
The witnesses briefed the Committee on the Right Care, Right Person model.
Justin McNulty joined the meeting at 2.26pm
Diane Dodds joined the meeting at 2.52pm
The briefing was followed by a question-and-answer session.
Stephen Dunne left the meeting at 3.05pm
Alan Chambers joined the meeting at 3.16pm.
Maurice Bradley left the meeting at 4.03pm
Nuala McAllister left the meeting at 4.05pm
Sinéad Ennis left the meeting at 4.19pm
The witnesses agreed to provide follow-up information on a number of areas, including the multi-agency triage team (MATT) pilot project; community safety hubs; the challenges faced with implementing the Right Care, Right Person model; the challenges with partnership working and the plans to address such challenges; and the role of the community and voluntary sector.
The oral evidence session was reported by Hansard.
The Chairperson thanked the witnesses and they left the meeting.
4. Right Care, Right Person and collaborative working — Department of Justice and Department of Health
Julie Wilson, Department of Justice Head of the Victims Support Division; Mark Goodfellow, Department of Justice Director of Safer Communities; Peter Toogood, Department of Health Deputy Secretary for Social Care; and Caroline Hickey, Department of Health Head of Criminal Justice Healthcare Policy, joined the meeting at 4.24pm.
The officials briefed the Committee on the Right Care, Right Person initiative and collaborative working between the Departments.
Órlaithí Flynn left the meeting at 4.39pm
Liz Kimmins left the meeting at 4.41pm
Colin McGrath left the meeting at 4.44pm
Diane Dodds left the meeting at 4.58pm
The briefing was followed by a question-and-answer session.
The oral evidence session was reported by Hansard.
The Chairperson thanked the officials for their attendance and they left the meeting.
The Meeting was adjourned at 5.26pm.
Joanne Bunting MLA
Chairperson, Committee for Justice
