Ms Elaine Crory:

Sometimes. The all party groups are separate, but I have been in front of some committees. It is very hit and miss and it really depends on who is chairing the committee and what they particularly want to focus on. Since they have come back in February, I have been before one committee which was the committee of the Executive Office, and it was about the violence against women and girls strategy but it is very hit and miss and you really have to do a lot of work to build up that relationship where they consider you worthy of coming into the committee.

It is very hit and miss, and a lot of work has to be done to build up that relationship, whereby they consider you worth coming in to the committee. It does depend, but it is probably the most effective route for getting answers. The minister for the department the organisation is there to speak about will not necessarily be there. The minister will then be written to separately and asked questions and so forth. We also engage through all-party groups, and there are many of them, on various issues that we are involved with. They are also good at writing to ministers to get answers about issues such the one I raised - what happened to that strategy, etc. It is rare to receive an answer that really answers the question asked.