To ask the Minister of Justice (i) to detail the number of recorded sexual assaults in prisons in Northern Ireland; and (ii) for her assessment on the scale of sexual abuse in prisons in Northern Ireland.

Since 2020 there have been 8 allegations about a prisoner sexually assaulting another prisoner whilst in custody reported to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

With an average just under 1,500 individuals in prison per day the statistics do not suggest and I have not seen any evidence to indicate that sexual abuse is commonplace in prison establishments. Each reported incident will be treated with utmost seriousness, investigated and referred to the PSNI if required.