Committee for Justice - Report on the Second Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Crime and Policing Bill

Committee for Justice - Report on the Second Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Crime and Policing Bill.pdf (252.99 kb)

Ordered by the Committee for Justice to be published on 22 January 2026.

Report: NIA 141/22-27 – Committee for Justice

Contents

 

Powers and Membership

Powers

The Committee for Justice is a Statutory Departmental Committee established in accordance with paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Belfast Agreement, Section 29 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and under Standing Order 48. The Committee has a scrutiny, policy development and consultation role with respect to the Department of Justice and has a role in the initiation of legislation.

The Committee has power to:

  • consider and advise on Departmental budgets and annual plans in the context of the overall budget allocation;
  • consider relevant subordinate legislation and take the Committee Stage of primary legislation;
  • call for persons and papers;
  • initiate inquiries and make reports; and
  • consider and advise on matters brought to the Committee by the Minister of Justice.


Membership

The Committee has nine members, including a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, and a quorum of five members. The membership of the Committee is as follows:

  • Mr Paul Frew MLA, DUP (Chairperson)
  • Ms Emma Sheerin MLA, Sinn Féin (Deputy Chairperson)
  • Ms Aoife Finnegan MLA, Sinn Féin
  • Mr Doug Beattie MLA, UUP
  • Mr Maurice Bradley MLA, DUP
  • Mr Brian Kingston MLA, DUP
  • Ms Connie Egan MLA, Alliance
  • Mrs Ciara Ferguson MLA, Sinn Féin
  • Mr Patsy McGlone MLA, SDLP

 

Background

1. The Crime and Policing Bill (“the Bill”), was introduced in Westminster on 25 February 2025 and extends to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The most recent version of the Bill can be found at Crime and Policing Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament

2. The Draft Legislative Consent Memorandum was laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly on 13 January 2025. In the Memorandum, the Minister noted that the current legislative programme means that it would not be possible to bring forward equivalent legislation via an Assembly Bill within the same timescale as can be achieved in the Westminster Bill. In addition, a number of the provisions on the Bill which relate to devolved matters apply across the UK. It was therefore recommended that the most appropriate approach was to seek consent for Westminster to legislate on behalf of Northern Ireland in respect of the provisions set out in the report below.

3. This is the second Legislative Consent Memorandum for the Crime and Policing Bill. Under Standing Order 42A(9), there is no requirement for the Committee to report on the Memorandum. However, the Department of Justice engaged with the Committee in advance of the Memorandum being laid and the Committee agreed to set out details of this engagement in a report to the Assembly.

4. The Committee’s report on the first Legislative Consent Memorandum for the Bill is available at Report on the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Crime and Policing Bill.

 

Provisions which require legislative consent

5. The provisions which deal with devolved matters which are included in the second Legislative Consent Memorandum for which consent will be sought relate to the following:

a. Child criminal exploitation offence and civil prevention orders
b. Restrictions on granting replacement driving licences to Registered Sex Offenders (RSOs)
c. A new offence in relation to child sexual abuse image-generators
d. A new offence of child abduction by retention of a child abroad without appropriate consent
e. Stalking protection orders on acquittal and conviction
f. New staking guidance about disclosure of information by PSNI
g. Access to remotely stored electronic data for law enforcement agencies
h. Provision regarding bulk and suspicious sales of knives
i. Removal of the supervision exemption from the definition of regulated activity (Department of Health measure)
j. Access to driver licensing information measure to expand the lawful purposes for which the police can access the DVLA driving license database
k. An enabling power to allow regulations to be made which will provide defences to certain offences for authorised testing of child sexual abuse (CSA) material
l. New offences to criminalise the possession or publication of pornography portraying strangulation or suffocation


Committee Consideration

6. During the Committee’s consideration of the provisions to be included in the first Legislative Consent Motion (LCM) for the Crime and Policing Bill, the Department indicated that it was likely that a second LCM would be required for provisions for which policy development was ongoing or that were expected to be added as the Bill progressed through its stages at Westminster. The Department provided a written briefing on 24 June 2025 which set out overview of the provisions that it considered, at that stage, were likely to be included in the second LCM. In addition to the matters set out at points a. to i. at paragraph 5 above, this included provisions relating to policing barred and advisory lists and strengthening age verification requirements for the online sale and delivery of knives and crossbows.

7. The Committee considered the written briefing at the meeting on 3 July. Members asked Departmental officials who were in attendance at the meeting about the Department’s engagement with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) on the provisions relating to access to remotely stored data. In response, officials indicated that, while the provisions could interfere with Article 8 rights, this could be permissible for a particular purpose with legitimate aims, and that a Code of Practice to include necessary safeguards will be put in place before the powers are commenced. The Committee requested that NIHRC’s feedback on the provisions to be included in the LCM, including comments relating to accessing remotely stored data, were provided in advance of the formal oral evidence session that had been scheduled for 11 September 2025. The Committee also asked the Department to outline how it considered the interference of the provisions relating to access to remotely stored data with Article 8 rights to be necessary and proportionate.

8. Given that one of the measures to be included in the LCM fell within the remit of the Department of Health, the Committee agreed to draw the proposal for the second LCM to the attention of the Committee for Health.

9. On 11 September, Departmental officials provided oral evidence on the provisions in the second LCM that had been included in the written briefing of 24 June. The officials also informed the Committee that policy development work was ongoing in respect of the provisions in the Bill to expand the lawful purposes for which police and other organisations can access the GB Driver and Vehicle Licensing database.

10. In response to questions regarding awareness raising for the new offences to be extended to Northern Ireland relating to child criminal exploitation, the use of AI models to produce CSA materials and the child abduction provisions, officials confirmed that, as is the case for any new offence, guidance will be developed and awareness-raising taken into account as part of the implementation plans.

11. With regard to access to remotely stored electronic data, Members were informed that the Home Office would take the lead in drafting the necessary code of practice, and that there is a requirement for the Home Secretary to also consult with the Information Commissioner, the Investigatory Powers Commissioner and the Education Minister. The officials advised that the Department expects to be contacted once the Home Office begins that work and that the Committee would be kept updated as the work progressed. The code of practice will not be in place before the LCM would be required to be agreed by the Assembly, but the powers will not be commenced until the code is agreed.

12. The Committee was also advised that the intention had been to include a number of relevant bodies in Northern Ireland, such as the PSNI, the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, within the provisions to create barred and advisory lists, while Belfast Harbour Police and Airport Police had also indicated that they wished to be included in the provision. However, capacity constraints meant that, locally, the provisions would only be for the creation of barred and advisory lists for the PSNI. During the evidence session, Members expressed concern at the potential gap that could be exploited by the provisions not extending to those other bodies.

13. The officials agreed to provide written information on a number of matters discussed during the oral evidence session, including in relation to existing legislation regarding child abduction and how it is managed when it involves movement across different UK jurisdictions; further clarity on age verification, thresholds and definitions in respect of the provisions relating to knives; and information on any assessments undertaken by the Department of Health about the impact that the removal of the supervision exemption from the definition of regulated activity may have.

14. The additional information from the Department providing clarity on these issues was noted by the Committee at the meeting on 9 October.

15. At the same meeting, the Committee also considered an update from the Department on further developments related to the second LCM. Members noted the Minister’s intention to extend two further measures to Northern Ireland, which relate to:

  • the creation of a statutory defence for persons testing AI for CSA material, extreme pornography and non-consensual intimate image abuse; and
  • criminalising the possession, distribution or publication of pornography depicting strangulation and suffocation.

16. The Committee was also informed that, given the volume of amendments that needed to be drafted for the Lords Committee stage, the Home Office had advised that it was not possible to draft clauses to create the a Barred and Advisory List for the PSNI. The Committee wrote to advise the Department of its concern in relation to the gap which will exist if the provisions to create the list for the PSNI were not included in the Bill.

17. The Committee asked if the Department had considered including the necessary provisions with the Justice Bill or any other piece of primary legislation that it was intending to bring forward within the Assembly mandate. In response, the Department welcomed the Committee’s support for such an amendment and advised it would now be the Minister’s intention to bring forward an amendment to make provision for Northern Ireland Policing Barred and Advisory Lists for all law enforcement bodies in Northern Ireland.

18. At the meeting on 20 November, the Committee noted updates from the Department on two matters. The first advised related to the measures to strengthen age verification requirements for the online sale and delivery of knives and crossbows and provision regarding bulk and suspicions sales of knives. The Department advised that the Opposition in Westminster had indicated that it would oppose the amendments, as they were linking the power to specify other methods of age verification with the Government’s plans for a digital ID scheme. As convention is not to make contested amendments at Lords Committee Stage, the measures relating to age verification would be removed though the duty to report remote sales of knives etc. in bulk would remain.

19. The second update related to access to GB driving licensing information. This measure had initially been proposed for inclusion in the first LCM though was withdrawn due to ongoing policy development . The Department advised that the Home Office had formally responded to propose a revised approach, so commencement of the Regulations in Northern Ireland should require the consent of the Department, insofar as the regulations and code of practice related to devolved bodies. The Code of Practice providing more detailed guidance about the use of data will contain a specific section developed by the Home Office and the Department, which will allow the Department to input as to how the data should be used in Northern Ireland. As a result, the PSNI will continue to be able to use GB driving licence data for road traffic purposes, but any wider use will depend on the commencement of the Regulations in Northern Ireland and on the PSNI being bound by the Code of Practice. The Department advised that the Minister considered the revised approach appropriate and would seek the Executive’s agreement for a second LCM which would include this measure.

 

Conclusion

20. The Committee noted on 15 January 2026 that the Legislative Consent Memorandum and the draft LCM had been laid on 13 January.

21. At its meeting on 22 January, the Committee agreed to support the Minister’s second Legislative Consent Motion to extend further measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to Northern Ireland as set out in the Memorandum laid on 13 January.

Links to Appendices

Appendix 1: Memoranda and Papers from the Department of Justice

View Memoranda and Papers supplied to the Committee by the Department of Justice

Appendix 2: Minutes of Proceedings

View Minutes of Proceedings of Committee meetings related to the report

Appendix 3: Minutes of Evidence

View Minutes of Evidence from evidence sessions related to the report

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This Report can be made available in a range of formats including large print, Braille etc. For more information please contact:

Committee for Justice
Kathy O’Hanlon (Clerk to the Committee)
Northern Ireland Assembly
Parliament Buildings
Ballymiscaw
Stormont
Belfast BT4 3XX

Telephone: 028 905 21033
Email: committee.justice@niassembly.gov.uk
X (Twitter): @NIAJusticeComm