To ask the Minister of Finance whether his Department will bring forward any proposals to reform private family law in light of the findings of the report, Totally Invisible: The experiences of domestic violence and abuse victims/survivors and children engaging with private law family court processes in Northern Ireland.

Mr O'Dowd

I welcome the 'Totally Invisible' report and have considered its key findings, which highlight a number of concerns about the experiences of the victims, survivors and children who have been involved in private family law cases. I recently met Connie Egan MLA, alongside representatives from Women's Aid and the NSPCC, to discuss the report and to hear their views directly, and those discussions have helped to inform my understanding of the issues that have been raised.

The report places significant emphasis on issues of court practice, culture and system design and refers to the family court pilot task and finish working group that the Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime is establishing to explore more trauma-informed approaches. To support that cross-departmental work, I have nominated a Department of Finance official to participate in the working group, and my Department will engage constructively with colleagues in the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and other Departments.

Mr O'Dowd

Yes. The well-being of the child has to be paramount in all those decisions, and I assure the Member that my Department and I will play our part in the ongoing discussions and, where we believe they are required, work our way through policy and legislative changes.

Mr Speaker

We will now move on to topical questions.