3. Mr Donnelly asked the Minister of Justice for her assessment of the impact of the domestic and sexual abuse small grant scheme. (AQO 1917/22-27)

Following publication of the new seven-year domestic and sexual abuse strategy in September 2025, the Health Minister and I launched a small grants scheme that offered voluntary and community sector organisations the opportunity to apply for funding to support new ideas and initiatives that aligned with the key strategic pillars outlined in the strategy. Over £300,000 was provided to 14 projects that were to be completed by 31 March 2025. Those projects were to deliver local solutions, promoting prevention; improving outcomes for victims and survivors; and providing a coordinated and impactful response to domestic and sexual abuse. Each project was required to report with post-project evaluations. That work is ongoing, and, to date, five post-project evaluations have been received.

I am encouraged that the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and that early insights demonstrate tangible benefits. Those include the provision of support to 24 women and 31 children by North Down and Ards Women’s Aid through its Moving On project; the provision of information to over 200 attendees at an event to mark International Women’s Day that was organised by the Women’s Centre in Derry; White Ribbon’s pilot training programme for Northern Ireland Prison Service staff to enable them to deliver training to residents at Hydebank Wood Secure College aimed at challenging the attitudes and beliefs that lead to violence against women and girls; the provision of brief solution-focused therapy by Nexus to support 102 individuals, which is aimed at crisis de-escalation to support survivors of sexual violence; and the delivery by Derry Well Women of three programmes to young women and girls impacted by domestic and sexual abuse, which is aimed at empowering women and girls to deal with past trauma associated with domestic abuse and to live their best lives. Further work, which will be informed by receipt of the outstanding post-project evaluations, is needed in order to provide a comprehensive assessment of the impact of the small grant scheme to date.

I thank the Minister for her answer. Minister, you stated that you were able to fund 14 initiatives. I am aware that one of those — the Family First programme — supports people in my constituency. Are you able to say a bit more about the services that can be provided by that scheme?

Organisations across all regions of Northern Ireland have benefited from the support provided through the scheme. The initiatives have wide-ranging impacts, as I have set out, and offer vital assistance to men, women and children who are affected by domestic and sexual abuse. The scheme has enabled some front-line services to deliver practical, emotional, preventative and therapeutic support that has made a difference to the lives of individuals and families.

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of visiting a Women's Aid refuge in Ballymena to see first-hand the valuable work that is being delivered through its Family First programme, which is supported by the scheme. That programme plays a vital role in offering early interventions for women and children affected by domestic abuse across the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area. It supports mothers in identifying and building on their strengths, developing tailored family support plans and gaining a deeper understanding of how abuse has impacted on their children. Children, in turn, receive therapeutic support in a safe, nurturing environment in which they can begin to process their experiences and build emotional resilience.

It was really uplifting to see the positive impact that the programme is having on families and to hear the improved outcomes for the young people who have had that additional contact and support. I look forward to visiting other initiatives that are funded through the scheme to see the broader reach of what I believe to be important work.

When strategies come into place, the allocation of budget is absolutely critical, and the domestic abuse strategy is a clear example of that. Will the Minister provide a bit more detail on the £300,000 for 14 projects, which are most welcome? What is her estimate of the value of rolling forward the scheme? How long will it continue?

The plan is that, when we get the post-project evaluation reports, we will see where, we feel, further roll-out, for example, might be appropriate. Such things, as the Member will appreciate, depend entirely on having the resources available to do them, but, when we looked at how the projects work, we were robust in scrutinising them. We wanted to bring additionality so that we were not just looking at things that are already being done, and we wanted to look at innovation so that we were looking at new ways of tackling the issues. Through those projects, we have been able to find new ways in which we can better support families who are experiencing domestic violence and abuse and better ways in which we can, in particular, provide the support needed by young people, who are often casualties of domestic violence, although they may not be the intended victim.

Such abuse can have long-term consequences. I spoke to one of the women who have worked with some of the families, and she told me how some of the children, as a result of domestic abuse and upheaval in the home, had been absent from school for long periods and had started to refuse to go to school. She talked about how she worked with a mother who was afraid to take her child to school, because even the routine of doing that left her feeling exposed to her abusive partner. She then worked with the school and the mother to arrange different pickup and drop-off times, breakfast club membership and things like that so that the mother had the confidence to take her child to school, to make that part of his day and to allow him to reintegrate with children in the school. The learning from that will allow us to inform other strategic decisions that we can take in the Department of Health and the Department of Justice on how we better support people.