Peter Weir
Strangford · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Funding was secured for that scheme, and we have been able to take further steps on it. As highlighted by my colleague Diane Dodds, we have seen my successor, the current Minister, be able to implement it at the beginning of September 2021 and funding be made available for it.”
“One of the great fears — I saw it particularly, as Education Minister, from the point of view of children and the domestic setting between partners — was what was going to happen in families when the doors closed and the locks went on. What was happening behind closed doors?”
“There is another significant element of the Bill. I have spoken about it in the Chamber on a couple of occasions. There is always a slight danger that we, as legislators, see legislation as being the end of a process and think that we can pack it away, put it on the shelf and forget about the problem because it has been solved.”
“I welcome the passage of the Bill's Final Stage and commend all the campaigners who have pressed so hard for it and the Bill sponsor. For Pat Catney, hearing some of the tributes must be like hearing eulogies at your funeral, without having to go through the indignity of dying, which is always a double advantage.”
“As highlighted by a number of Members, the impact of period poverty, though not confined to it, has been particularly acute in young women's education. We know that the impact can lead to the missing of education and constraints within education, and that it does so in a disproportionate way.”
“I support the Bill's Final Stage, and I commend the Bill's sponsor for introducing it. I thank the Minister and the Department for the positive attitude that they have taken towards it.”
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“However, when it comes to witnesses and the delivery of evidence, it creates constraints. How is that the case? Anyone who has practised law will know that, when you are taking evidence in a case, the opportunity to be directly face to face with a witness is highly important in order to convey the full meaning of any evidence session. In delivering decisions, it is often about seeing the nuance of how a witness performs and how they deliver their evidence. To an extent, that is masked by video delivery. It is not the same quality.”
“I am going to carry on. I am sure that there will be opportunities later for the Member to make her point. <BR /> <BR />The position should be that justice is not at the back of the queue. Unfortunately, I think that that is where this measure leaves it. I do not take particular exception to what has been outlined with regard to the coroner's position.”
“<BR /> <BR />To that end, there is a good argument that justice should actually be put at the forefront of removal of restrictions in order to enable it to resume the best possible delivery of service. At the very least, we should not be in a situation where restrictions are removed from virtually every other aspect of life and, in effect, the delivery of justice is put to the back of the queue and restrictions are maintained when they are being removed from life.”
“I thank the Minister for her intervention. However, had she listened to what I was saying, she would know that I did not suggest that it was impacting on the throughput of the courts. I am not making that particular point. I am making a different point about the quality of the delivery of justice. The reality is that the restraints and some of the restrictions that are there do have an impact on the quality of the delivery of justice. I am sure that the Minister would agree that to ensure the delivery of that quality of justice is one of the most important aspects that faces society. Whether you are a defendant or plaintiff, indeed, on a whole range of things, ensuring that you get the best possible delivery of justice is critical in society.”
“I am really just getting started, but I will give way briefly.”
“However, no matter how well restrictions work in the particular sectors in which the provision is delivered, they come with a level of constraint to the delivery of services. Nowhere is that more important than in the justice system.”
“At the outset, I should declare a non-pecuniary interest as a non-practising member of the Bar. Obviously, "non-practising" means that I will not get any fees as the result of any court case, so it is non-pecuniary in nature. <BR /> <BR />To be a bit like the little boy who points out that the emperor has no clothes, on behalf of the DUP, I indicate that we will oppose the motion. It is the case, I think, that we all — or, at least, the vast bulk of us — accept that, during the pandemic, there has been, at times, a need for restrictions to be put in place for the point of public safety. It is, undoubtedly, the case that, sometimes, those restrictions have been put in place across different sectors to enable things to carry on as best as possible. That has largely been the case in the justice system.”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. When there are difficulties for society, there is always the risk that criminals will seek to exploit them. There is particular concern that serious and organised crime groups will have taken advantage of the difficulties created by the pandemic. Can the Minister give us any more details on whether there has been any detection of emerging trends in cross-border crime by serious and organised crime groups? Beyond what she has told us already, can she give us any additional information on what actions are being taken to counteract those emerging trends?”
“I welcome the statement from the Minister on this vital intervention for consumers and the wider economy. Some Members make jibes about confidence, but today's statement shows that, as a result of the arrangements that were made, there has been plenty of supply for Northern Ireland. In light of that, what is the Minister's assessment of the impact of Project Stratum on businesses across Northern Ireland?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. In my constituency, there has been positive feedback from retailers and other businesses; indeed, I should confess that the suit I am wearing today was partly purchased with the £100 from the high street voucher. Obviously, the scheme acted as a multiplier of the money that went into that clothes shop in Newtownards. What is the Minister's assessment of the impact that the high street voucher scheme has had on my constituency of Strangford?”
“I thank the Member for giving way. He referenced the £3 billion, but it was over £3 billion of support in just the first year of the pandemic. If we take some of the consequences that will flow into this Budget, the overall figure will probably be in excess of £5 billion, and that does not take into account the contribution and support from Westminster for the furlough scheme.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although it is not the ideal route for moving forward, the Budget Bill that we are faced with today certainly offers a better route than the alternative from the Finance Minister. If there is a saving grace from the current situation, it is perhaps the opportunity for people to draw back from the financial point of view. Then, when it comes to producing a longer-term Budget for Northern Ireland, we can do that with a much more strategic focus, because that is what is fundamentally lacking from the alternative proposal to today's Budget.”
“From the proposals that have been put forward, we know that, if the Finance Minister's Budget were adopted, it would mean swingeing cuts for higher and further education and for training. The percentage of the overall Budget for the Department for the Economy that will continue to be spent there simply could not be protected by making other cuts. For example, even at present, because of the level of uncertainty created by the Finance Minister's proposals, we have seen that Invest NI has had to draw back on what it can do into the future. That is no way in which to build a stable and prosperous Northern Ireland. A stable and prosperous Northern Ireland is a key component of dealing with our healthcare problem. It is a key component of dealing with the education problems out there.”
“By contrast, if we were to go down the route of the Finance Minister's Budget, the economy, for the first time ever, would not be the top priority of government. If we are saying that Health has to be the only Department protected, we are doing Health a disservice by ignoring Departments such as Economy and Justice. As we have seen from a range of evidence in the Justice Committee, for example, a range of cuts would have to be made that would have a knock-on effect. <BR /> <BR />The reality is that the shadow of the potential Budget by the Finance Minister is having a major impact on finance. We are at least able to roll forward on the economy side with, for example, protection and support for our students, for student numbers and apprenticeships.”
“It is additional money for Health without any level of commitment to or plan for the reform of Health. We would all like to have seen additional financial support, particularly for Health, down the years. There has been growth on the level of expenditure, however. The missing element has been the fundamental level of reform. Frankly, without that reform, we are simply exacerbating an outstanding problem and doing so against the backdrop of the impact that it has on all other aspects of society. <BR /> <BR />Finally, the other Committee that I serve on is the Economy Committee. By taking the current Budget and transposing it to the early stages of 2022-23, we at least maintain a previous commitment to put the economy at the heart of the Programme for Government and, indeed, what it would deliver.”
“We also need, within our society, to ensure that there is full stability as we move forward. The Deputy Speaker will soon draw me to a conclusion if I go too far into this, but, undoubtedly, the issue of the protocol is creating an inherent instability, and we need, once and for all, to get that sore dealt with so that we can have longer-term political and financial stability. <BR /> <BR />I will turn to two other aspects of the Budget. At least we have what is in there, compared with what potentially was on offer from the Finance Minister. It is important that additional resources be put into the Department of Health, and everyone agrees on that, but the approach that has been taken, by way of an alternative to what we have today, utterly lacks any form of strategic direction.”
“There has not been any form of agreement. There is a wide level of divergence; it is not simply a matter of disagreement over small amounts of money. If we are looking at what is there for the three years, there are fundamental differences, and that means that agreement is not there. We need to face up to that reality.”
“With respect, I am drawing a distinction between a one-year Budget and a multi-year Budget. In the current circumstances, it is more appropriate to look at a single-year budget. Let us be honest. Yes, the roll forward advocates initially for the 45% funding, but let us be under no illusion. A certain amount of gamesmanship will be played on the Budget. The block grant will get spent in 2022-23. Let us not pretend that, suddenly, by way of some form of agreement, the amount of money going to Northern Ireland plc will be boosted. There is a certain disingenuous quality to the way that it has been presented. <BR /> <BR />Another thing has been missed as part of this. It presupposes that, if the Executive met tomorrow, they would be in a position to simply agree a Budget.”
“However, the Committee got very clear-cut evidence from the Chief Constable that, if the proposed Budget was put in place, we would see not simply the PSNI being unable to meet the NDNA commitment of an increase in the number of police officers to 7,500, but massive reductions in the number of police officers. At least with the roll forward that is being put in place, we will not see those cuts to the Department of Justice's budget, which would be much greater than those faced by any other Department. At least what we face today is preferable to the Budget that was put forward by the Finance Minister.”
“The draft Budget that was put forward, which is effectively the only alternative that we can put on the table to what we are faced with today, would undoubtedly have made things considerably worse. <BR /> <BR />Take a couple of aspects of that. Whatever the broader levels of redistribution, if there was a top-slicing of £45 million from the Education budget for our hard-pressed schools and, indeed, our hard-pressed teachers, who are seeking pay rises, that would be disastrous. At least that salami-slicing will not take place through this Budget. Similarly, as a member of the Justice Committee, I am aware of some of the pressures in the Justice budget.”
“On reflection, in this particular circumstance, the better route is to go into an election with an initial one-year Budget and then reach an agreement on a more strategic level, whether the time frame is three, four years or whatever. <BR /> <BR />The biggest point to make about a multi-year Budget is that, whether it is for one year, three years or five years — Mr Carroll may look for a 10-year, Soviet-style plan whereby we can take a "great leap forward", although I do not want to mix my Soviet and Chinese communism metaphors — the single most important thing is to get that Budget right. Indeed, if we have the wrong Budget, having the wrong Budget tied in for three years is worse than having the wrong Budget tied in for one year.”
“It is not particularly good practice to, directly ahead of an election, potentially bind our successors and, effectively, take Programme for Government decisions before we have a Programme for Government. That is putting the cart before the horse. <BR /> <BR />The 2011-15 Budget was mentioned. At that time, there was a much greater continuum with the Programme for Government. There was a fresh Programme for Government. However, look at what has happened in the last few years. We have gone through a number of years without agreeing a formal Programme for Government. Indeed, over the last two years, a Programme for Government has been somewhat loosely interpreted, because, frankly, given the COVID situation, the extent to which there could be watertight delivery of any Programme for Government has been limited.”
“<BR /> <BR />Secondly, I do not think that anyone would disagree with the idea that there could be an advantage from having a multi-year Budget. In many ways, that goes without saying, but I will include two caveats in that. The lesser one was a point that was raised by Mr Muir about whether we have been in a situation where, in the teeth of an election, we have gone in without a Budget. No, we have not, and, by passing the Budget Bill, there will be finance moving ahead. <BR /> <BR />If we are looking at a three-year Budget, there has to be particular strategic foresight, and it is clearly an advantage if we are in a situation in which that Budget is based on the priorities in the Programme for Government.”
“First, I am not being critical of the Finance Minister or any Department, but Mr Catney talked about the need for strategic thinking. I have been in the House since 1998, so we may be coming close to the silver anniversary of the first call for strategic thinking in the House. However, as we move ahead, we need to examine our broader budgetary process. <BR /> <BR />During the Supply resolution debate yesterday, the point was made by my colleague Mrs Cameron that, where the timescales that we apply to the Budget process each year are concerned, there is still an argument that we are reaching a point where the final Budget comes too late in the financial year so we need to operate on a more strategic basis. Irrespective of what agreements are reached on individual budgets, that is something that we need to look at much more strategically.”
“I heard a representative from the BMA on the radio yesterday, I think that it was, indicating that the mass levels of testing that there have been up until now simply would not be appropriate. We need to question that. As we move ahead, if high levels of testing are still taking place, that will, effectively, eat directly into our budget. We will not get the funding to be able to cover that. That is not to say that we do not need to see some focus in that area, but, from a practical point of view, we have to realise that, as with a lot of things, there are opportunity costs. Those will eat into whatever budget is there to help address our waiting lists. <BR /> <BR />The argument has been made for a three-year Budget, but I will make three points about that.”
“Therefore, there is not the same need to provide that level of funding as we move into 2022-23, irrespective of what direct decisions are made about whether there is a three-year Budget for 2022-25 or a rollover. The amount of funding that will be made available through COVID funding will clearly be a fraction of what it was in the last financial year. Ultimately, we do not know what that will end up being, because a lot of it will tend to be consequences of decisions that are, by their nature, in-year. That will mean that there will be very tough decisions for individual Departments, particularly if, compared with other institutions, we are looking to go on a solo run. <BR /> <BR />Mention has been made about the level of support that there should be for a testing regime.”
“Nevertheless, when you take that £4·8 billion and see that, allied into that sum, which does not appear directly in our figures — I do not know what the exact figure would be — is the level of direct support that was provided through the furlough scheme to people remaining in employment, which means that the support that we have been able to get through the COVID crisis for Northern Ireland plc has run into many billions. That has been one of the major advantages of being part of the United Kingdom, which is one of the largest economies in the world. <BR /> <BR />However, thankfully, the impact of coronavirus appears to be reducing.”
“In response to a question that I raised, the Finance Minister supplied these figures: in 2020-21, the first full year of the pandemic, central government put COVID funding of £3·3 billion into the Northern Ireland block grant; and it put £1·5 billion into the current year's Budget, a total direct intervention to the Executive of £4·8 billion. While I freely acknowledge that that funding had to be spent on a wide range of areas, it is also the case that there was a level of restriction in it, as I am sure the Finance Minister will attest to. <BR /> <BR />On some occasions, consequentials that were put into the Budget came so late in the day that there was difficulty spending all that money.”
“I cannot promise that everything that I say will be novel to the debate, or, indeed, be blue-sky thinking. I do not want to introduce blue-sky thinking into it, thereby endangering any chances that I have of re-election. I will, however, try to focus my remarks. <BR /> <BR />There are a number of points to be made. First, we need to note the context as we move towards next year's Budget. The Budget Bill does, at least, establish a draft Budget for next year. Despite some of the claims, we are not simply taking a leap into the unknown. The Bill rolls forward the current Budget, meaning that funding will be available. <BR /> <BR />What has been central over the past couple of years — understandably, given the situation — is the level of additional support that has come in to help to combat coronavirus.”
“I rise to speak in this election hustings debate — sorry; I meant Budget debate. At least, I suppose, compared with some other Members, I am unencumbered by being Chair or Deputy Chair of one of the statutory Committees. To be fair, I am Chair of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee, but the impact of the budgetary settlement on that Committee is relatively small, to the extent that even Mr Allister cannot get up and criticise any additional funding that is due to come to it. <BR /> <BR />There is always a slight danger when speaking late in a debate of this nature. As a colleague of mine once said, "We have reached the point where everything has been said, but not everybody has said it". I will therefore try to keep my remarks relatively brief.”
“I thank the Minister for her response. It is good to see substantial progress under that vital programme. <BR /> <BR />The Minister recently announced substantial funding investment under 'A Fair Start' for Monkstown Boxing Club. Will the Minister give a bit more information on the rationale for funding that project and say whether projects such as Monkstown Boxing Club act as exemplars for future projects under 'A Fair Start'?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. As the Minister indicated, energy supply has moved higher and higher up the agenda in recent weeks and even this week. Therefore, I want to ask the Minister about his discussions on offshore generation. What steps are being taken to advance energy security and security of supply in offshore generation?”
“The Minister mentions the baseline impact on the Department of Justice. Concerns have been raised by DOJ and the police that the baseline figure for policing does not reflect the money that is currently spent on policing. In-year money has, effectively, had to be drawn in to plug gaps to meet even the current policing demand. In light of those concerns, what discussions has the Minister had with DOJ or the police on the baseline figure for policing?”
“What is the Minister's assessment of the importance of the Assured Skills programme in upskilling? What feedback has he had from companies about the programme?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. Given the need to use every tool at our disposal for international investment, will he indicate whether the opportunities that are created by the links between Invest NI and the Department for International Trade (DIT) and its network of UK embassies across the world will be an issue for the review?”
“No one whom I have ever met has been as much a devoted family man as Christopher — to his mother, to his siblings but particularly to his beloved Laura and his four children, in whom he had such tremendous pride. They must be at the heart of our thoughts today. <BR /> <BR />I will borrow something from a funeral that I was at recently. We have seen in the many summations of Christopher the words "Christopher Stalford, 1983-2022". The critical thing is not when we are born or when we die but the hyphen in the middle. What Christopher gave to society in his 39 years was more than most people give in more than twice that length of time. Christopher, you had a life well lived, and we will miss you.”
“My personal experience, towards the end of last year, when my mother passed on, was that Christopher was on the phone to me, knowing that I would be alone at Christmas and insisting that I join his family on Christmas Day. Christopher, with his hidden talents, was, of course, an excellent chef. It will not come as any great surprise that, for Christmas dinner, Christopher was not going to confine himself to anything as mundane as cooking a turkey; it was always something a bit more exotic than that. <BR /> <BR />Whatever the loss that we feel, the pain and loss of his beloved family must be absolutely at the forefront of our minds.”
“I join others in thanking the SDLP for its decency and courtesy in cancelling its conference. I am also reminded of the public comments of his old sparring partner and friend Mary Durkan, who was until recently an SDLP councillor up in the north-west. On any occasion when I was up there and ran into Mary, the first thing that she would ask me was, "How's Stalfie doing?". There was a depth to the affection and respect felt for Christopher across the political spectrum. <BR /> <BR />As William mentioned, he was a man who came with a great hinterland of interests; he was not simply two-dimensional. He was great company on all occasions, a great wit and a great humorist, but he was also a man of untrumpeted kindness to all of us who received phone calls at difficult times from Christopher with an offer of help and support.”
“The young Christopher Stalford would have been astonished and delighted to know that, when he passed on, it would be commented on by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The young Christopher Stalford would also have been astonished and probably a little bit appalled to know that it had also been commented on by the Taoiseach, I have to say.”
“Christopher was a true Belfast man. He lived in a number of houses in Belfast throughout his life, but he never left Belfast. He was a true Orangeman and a true unionist through and through. He was a politician of conviction in an age when there is a lot of cynicism out there. He was someone who stuck by his convictions but was not bound by them in a way that did not allow him to reach out to others in society or in the Chamber. If there is one crumb of comfort that we can draw from his passing, to quote Abraham Lincoln, it is that it can bring out the "better angels of our nature". <BR /> <BR />All of us have been deeply touched by the breadth and depth of the genuine outpouring of sympathy and hurt on Christopher's passing.”
“That was why, when I joined the DUP in 2002, the first person whom I headhunted to work for me was Christopher Stalford. It was because he was a person of such talent and ability. I was his first employer. <BR /> <BR />Down the years, I have seen his development from working in the DUP press office to becoming a councillor at the age of 22, to being high sheriff and deputy mayor and, eventually, to becoming Principal Deputy Speaker. I have looked on that with great pride but with no surprise, because it was the fulfilment of his ability. I had the same good fortune as others to meet Christopher a few moments after he had been told that he was going to be Principal Deputy Speaker. He was glowing with pride, not for his own sake but because of the pleasure that, he knew, it would bring his family.”
“A little bit like Benjamin Button, the older Christopher got in chronological age, the younger he became. <BR /> <BR />What shone out of Christopher from day one was his talent and ability. Christopher came from a loving and close family, but he was not from any form of privilege. He was a working-class boy, and all that he subsequently achieved was achieved through his talents and ability, whether academic or political. He was deeply articulate, he had great analytical skills, and he had great knowledge. From the early days, whether you were talking about the latest developments in the Chamber at Stormont, what was happening in Annadale or Sandy Row or the latest international developments in Washington or beyond, Christopher was clued-in on all of it.”
“We meet on a very sad day. It is a very sad day for his friends and colleagues. It is a loss to all of us in the DUP. It is a loss to the Chamber. It is a loss to his constituency staff and, indeed, his constituents in South Belfast. Above all, it is a terrible loss to his family. We have lost a great man, but, perhaps more importantly, we have lost a good man. <BR /> <BR />I first met Christopher in the days of the first Assembly, when he accompanied his good friend and predecessor Mark Robinson to the Building. That was in the days before Christopher had been at university, and he was still at school. He was distinctive in his Barbour jacket, quite often, or in his suit. Christopher was probably the oldest teenager that I have ever met”
“At the heart of that is ensuring that we have proper implementation, proper monitoring and proper review. The steps taken in amendment No 7, particularly those to ensure the independence of the review, are important. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the amendments that have been tabled. They will help what is already a good enhancement of autism services and take a further step forward. I wholeheartedly support the Bill and all its clauses. In particular, I welcome the amendments.”
“Finally, I turn to amendment No 7. Clause 5 makes provisions for review to ensure monitoring of implementation. The steps that the Committee has taken through amendment No 7 tighten up that review. That is important and very helpful. A mistake that we, as legislators, sometimes make — I can be as guilty of this as anyone — is in seeing piece of legislation as simply a finished event. We see a situation of there being a problem and a solution, and, once we reach that point, we almost package it away in a box and say that we do not need to worry about it anymore because we have solved it through that piece of legislation. Legislation, if it is good and working well, should not simply be an event; it should be a process of delivery for people.”
“Therefore, amendment No 6 takes an important step forward. One of the things that massively frustrates families is where they have contact with others who are in a similar position and, maybe because of that different delivery, see themselves being treated differently. Therefore, any driver of consistency is important.”
“For many years, very good work has been done in education, both within Northern Ireland and on a cross-border basis, by the Middletown Centre for Autism. We need to ensure that that good work on a national basis is replicated effectively on the ground. One of the criticisms that we often hear of our public services is of a lack of consistency and a postcode lottery in difference of approach. The driver of consistency in education there is helpful. <BR /> <BR />All of us have seen that, at times, with the best will in the world, there are differences of approach within and among trusts. During the recent COVID pandemic, we have seen different approaches being taken from trust to trust on things like visiting times and opportunities. It is important to have a greater opportunity for consistency in the delivery of education and health.”
“Speaking as an MLA and a former Education Minister, I know that it is important that we get consistency across the piece.”
“<BR /> <BR />It is important that amendment Nos 2 and 3 make important additional steps in widening the scope of the Bill. There is sometimes a tendency to think of autism in a one- or two-dimensional way, and physical health and housing, for example, can be ignored. It is important that those are mentioned explicitly in the Bill. <BR /> <BR />Amendment No 4 is also important. The key test of any legislation is its practical implications. Taking the opportunity to place a requirement on tackling waiting times will be an important element of the support that is needed for helping families who are dealing with autism because it will help to give focus and will put it on a statutory basis. <BR /> <BR />I will move now to amendment No 6.”
“The idea of helping tackle autism by saying that it should be done on a cross-departmental basis should, in many ways, be a no-brainer; it should be something that is accepted across the board. However, at times, there could be a criticism that, in the delivery of public services in Northern Ireland, there is a tendency to operate with a silo mentality. The amendment will help to overcome that. The particular advantage of amendment No 5 is that it would ensure that that level of cooperation would, hopefully, happen on a multilayered level and would not simply apply to the multidisciplinary interventions that happen on the ground. Hopefully, the explicit reference to cross-departmental working will embed the spirit of cooperation at the highest level of Departments.”