Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

I thank my hon. Friends the Members for South Down (Mr. McGrady) and for Foyle (Mark Durkan) for the way in which they have approached the topic before us today. I have to say at the outset that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has welcomed the new powers that we have given it in the Bill. It has also expressed some concerns, which have been amply outlined by my hon. Friends, but I believe that the Government have struck the right balance by giving new powers to the commission while not extending them as my hon. Friends propose. My hon. Friends’ amendments seek to remove various restrictions that apply to the commission’s new powers to compel evidence and to access places of detention to undertake investigations on human rights matters. From my perspective, these new powers are serious ones for the Human Rights Commission to exercise. I am acutely aware that human rights issues apply across the public sector. Consequently, unlike almost any other similar body, the commission will be able to investigate matters anywhere across the public sector.