Dominic Bradley
Newry and Armagh · Social Democratic and Labour Party · Northern Ireland
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a ráitis. Ba mhaith liom a fhiafraí den Aire cad é an tionchar a bheas ag na ciorruithe Thuaidh agus Theas ar obair Fhoras na Gaeilge san am atá romhainn? I thank the Minister for her statement.”
“<BR /> <BR />Obviously, the £95,000 cap is at the heart of the matter. As others mentioned, there is concern amongst the representatives of public service workers about this issue. The Committee heard from several trade unions, including UNISON and NIPSA.”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. Thank you very much, Mr Principal Deputy Speaker. Yes, there have been a number of reservations expressed about the use of the LCM in this context.”
“It also said that the Department of Finance and Personnel's decisions were not based on evidence, either qualitative or quantitative. <BR /> <BR />Responses to the original consultation argued that the current changes would impact negatively on older people.”
“Those challenges could be on the basis of breach of contract, unlawful deductions of earnings based on the contractual right to payment, and on the unfair application of waivers, which could lead to inconsistency across employing authorities.”
“The Bill as it stands will negatively impact on many public servants and change their contractual rights. The proper legislative authority on this matter should remain with the Assembly here, and the LCM does not give the Assembly the opportunity to exercise its authority fully and to scrutinise, according to its role, the detail.”
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“Indeed, the Department indicated that it would oppose the Bill as drafted. I expect that the Minister will explain that in more detail today, but from the briefing received on 15 September, the opposition appears to be on the basis of DFP seeing a need for further consultation and policy development to take account of the views of the business community and some other Departments. The Department has argued that a more suitable vehicle would be its proposed Rates (Amendment) Bill, which would include an enabling power to allow provision to be made for enhanced relief through subordinate legislation at a later date and following consultation with the business community.”
“In more recent correspondence circulated to Committee members yesterday, Hospitality Ulster acknowledges that point but calls for the Assembly to delay the Bill and to include this matter in the review of business rates, which is to be undertaken by DFP. I expect, therefore, that Members will want to consider this issue further during today's debate. No doubt, if the Bill were to move to Committee Stage, there would be a further opportunity for all stakeholders, including the business community, to provide their views on the proposals and to put forward suggestions for any necessary amendments. <BR /> <BR />Finally, the Committee is aware that DFP raised concerns about the Bill that were outlined in correspondence from the Minister of Finance and during oral evidence from departmental officials on 15 September 2015.”
“Given that concern, I note that the explanatory and financial memorandum to the Bill states:”
“In its submission, which was circulated to Committee members ahead of today's debate, Hospitality Ulster raised concerns that many of the clubs that will benefit under the Bill are licensed premises and that many of them operate as commercial businesses in direct competition with pubs, hotels and restaurants. <BR /> <BR />Hospitality Ulster further argued:”
“Also, clubs do not necessarily have to own the facilities they use to qualify for CASC status. Amateur clubs that share facilities with professional clubs are not automatically prevented from receiving CASC status. In that regard, CASCs are allowed to pay professional members up to a limit of £10,000 per year to coach, work in the club and play. <BR /> <BR />Following the introduction of the Bill before the summer recess and with a view to maximising the use of the time available, the Committee issued a call for evidence, which ran from 8 July to 2 September 2015. While that included public notices being placed in provincial papers and on digital media, only one submission was received. That was from Hospitality Ulster, formerly known as Pubs of Ulster.”
“While the most frequently used criterion relates to a club's provision of licensed bar facilities, such a provision does not necessarily prevent the club from receiving relief.”
“<BR /> <BR />Another issue that was identified during the evidence session on 7 May 2014 was the potential for sports clubs that are registered as community amateur sports clubs — CASCs — to be disadvantaged in comparison with those that are registered charities, with the latter being able to avail themselves of 100% rates relief. A further issue was raised about circumstances in which professionals and amateurs share premises. <BR /> <BR />In pursuing those and the other issues that were discussed, the Committee commissioned the Assembly's Research and Information Service to examine the position in Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The research found that, on the additional discretionary 20% relief that is offered by authorities in Britain, the criteria varied considerably from authority to authority.”
“The other social benefits included better community relations, a stronger community spirit and activities for young people that lead to a reduction in antisocial behaviour. <BR /> <BR />The Bill's sponsor referred to the comparatively more generous arrangements in other places. He also referred to the increased financial pressures on amateur sport clubs, with increased utility costs and other overheads, and reduced opportunities for commercial sponsorship. The witnesses also pointed to the diversity of sports cubs that responded to the policy consultation and the overwhelmingly positive response in that regard. Finally, the point was made that the cost of increasing the rates relief from 80% to 100% would be modest in comparison with the potential benefits.”
“I expect that that approach would be continued by the Chair were the Bill to be referred to Committee Stage, but, as I said earlier, it appears that that will not be the case. <BR /> <BR />The Committee received an initial oral briefing from the Bill's sponsor on 7 May 2014. Mr McKay was accompanied by Mr Ken Armstrong, who represented the Belfast Indoor Bowls Club, and Miss Katie Nixon, who represented the Northern Ireland Sports Forum. During that session, the witness highlighted a number of points, including the important contribution that is made to local communities by amateur sports clubs, including the value of volunteering. He also mentioned the public, physical and mental health benefits of sport, including preventive spending on conditions such as obesity and diabetes.”
“Rather than rehearse the main principles of the Bill, as the sponsor has already outlined them, I shall briefly refer to the main points that arose from the Committee's preliminary consideration of the policy proposals in the Bill. In undertaking its preliminary scrutiny of the proposals, the Committee found itself in the unusual, if not unique, position of the Committee's Chairperson also being the Bill's sponsor. Procedural advice was received on good practice for handling such a scenario, and that resulted in the Chairperson stepping aside from the Chair and declaring the necessary interest during the discussions on the proposed Bill. I take the opportunity to declare an interest as a member of St Patrick's Gaelic Football Club, Carrickcruppen.”
“I also welcome the opportunity to debate the Bill on behalf of the Committee for Finance and Personnel, which, unfortunately, it seems, will now not have the opportunity to scrutinise it because of the laying of a petition of concern.”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Éirím le labhairt ar son an Choiste Airgeadais agus Pearsanra ar an Dara Céim den Bhille faoiseamh rátaí do chlubanna spóirt amaitéaracha. I dtús báire, beidh mé ag labhairt ar son an Choiste agus, ina dhiaidh sin, ar son mo pháirtí féin. <BR /> <BR />I rise to speak, initially, on behalf of the Committee for Finance and Personnel on the Rates (Relief for Community Amateur Sports Clubs) Bill and, subsequently, on behalf of my own party. <BR /> <BR />I want to begin by thanking the Member for outlining the general principles of his Bill and his rationale for bringing forward the proposed legislation.”
“That being the case, on what did the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and the former Finance Minister base their view that the sale of the Northern Ireland portfolio to Cerberus was good for Northern Ireland?”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. In light of the diverging narratives from the First Minister and deputy First Minister on the events leading up to the Project Eagle sale, whom does the Minister believe?”
“A true living wage must recognise the cost of living, not what the market can bear. Mr Speaker, thank you for allowing me to contribute today. We support the motion and the amendment.”
“<BR /> <BR />The SDLP believes that the institute made a clear case for the positive outcomes that in-work benefit have brought to workers. In the face of the British Government's national living wage, we have called for a robust discussion on the proper implementation of a true living wage, and we hope to discuss it in the Chamber in the future.”
“The dangers were recognised by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in its analysis of the new policy, which noted a serious reduction in household incomes. The institute noted that, on average, the new so-called national living wage will only compensate 26% of the losses that households with someone in work will face. They will be £550 worse off per year. That is in contrast to those currently living without the national living wage, who face losses of £750. Despite the seeming benefit, the gap will close as time moves on, as the institute noted. The national living wage offers such little compensation because the boost to gross wages is smaller than the announced fiscal tightening. Even at that, the national living wage will not benefit the households that are being most damaged by tax reductions.”
“This has resulted in nearly one quarter of Northern Ireland's children living in poverty. <BR /> <BR />The British Government justification for these changes seems to rely solely on the fact that they have introduced an increased minimum wage or, as they would call it, the national living wage. Since this announcement, the SDLP has been highly sceptical of the Tories' commandeering of this term. We recognised early on that, while any increase in the minimum wage is to be welcomed, it is wrong to claim such as the national living wage as we know it. It is wrong to claim that it will offset the pressures being created through reductions in the tax policy.”
“So, in very real terms, the new threshold will result in an income cut of £17·60 a week and a loss of over £900 per year. In my opinion, this accurately reflects the vital source of income that tax credits are to families here in Northern Ireland who rely on them in their daily lives. <BR /> <BR />Of particular concern is the effect that the new tax credit changes will have on Northern Ireland's children. As Members have noted, the current family element of child tax credit is worth £10·50 per week and its loss will amount to £545 per annum. This, in combination with the reductions mentioned above, is a substantial loss to families who depend on tax credits to function. The reduction is all the more horrifying when we consider that 101,000 children are already in poverty.”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I, too, welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion and the amendment. We are quite happy to support the motion and the amendment. I wish to highlight the wide-reaching and devastating impact that the proposed reduction of tax credits will have on low- and middle-earning families here and on our economic growth in general. As it stands, over 127,000 households are in receipt of tax credits. In many cases, they are vital in topping up earnings and ensuring that people can make ends meet. <BR /> <BR />The current proposals seek to reduce the tax credit income threshold from £6,420 per annum to £3,850 from April 2016. This new threshold is a significant reduction, being nearly half of the previous threshold.”
“Is it not the case that the amount of financial transaction capital that is available to Northern Ireland was oversubscribed? Does the surrender of this £50 million now enable those who did not benefit from it previously to benefit from it now?”
“<BR /> <BR />One of the points that I raised with Mr Allister at the Committee was the nature of the speciality that these advisers lay claim to. Since his Bill contains the word "special", should his Bill not have reflected what degree of speciality special advisers should have? He replied to me that he was open to looking at any amendment that might seek to define "speciality" in relation to advisers. <BR /> <BR />Ag an phointe seo, ba mhaith liom a rá go bhfuil mé sásta gur phléigh mé leis na mór-phointí a eascraíonn as an Bhille seo, agus, mar a dúirt mé cheana féin, beidh deis agam ag Céim an Choiste na rudaí seo a iniúchadh níos mine. As I said, I look forward to the Committee Stage of the Bill and to examining some of the issues in more detail. Go raibh míle maith agat.”
“We believe that eight SpAds for a single Department is extremely excessive. <BR /> <BR />Mr Allister was also asked about how the restructuring in Executive Departments would impact on the need for special advisers. He said that if the number of Departments decreases, the number of special advisers will go down accordingly. That would have an added impact on the cost reduction of special advisers. <BR /> <BR />The SDLP is happy to support the Second Stage of the Bill, in the knowledge that, at Committee Stage, we will have the opportunity to explore some of the issues that we have raised in more detail and in the context of evidence from a wider selection of individuals and public bodies than Mr Allister had access to.”
“I note that, during the consultation process, 98% of respondents to the consultation on the Bill agreed that the number of SpAds should be reduced. Some 92% said that it was reasonable to reduce the number in OFMDFM from eight to four. <BR /> <BR />At the Committee, Mr Allister was asked how he could be sure that the roles and responsibilities of SpAds in Scotland and Wales were comparable to those of SpAds in Northern Ireland, especially in relation to complexities arising out of political divisions here. His response to that was that the fact that four special advisers are afforded to the First Minister and deputy First Minister more than allows for those special circumstances and possible complexities. The SDLP agrees, as I have said before, that there should be a reduction in special advisers.”
“<BR /> <BR />Clause 2 seeks to amend the Civil Service Commissioners Order to reduce the number of special advisers in OFMDFM from eight to four. Under the current system, each Minister of the Executive, including junior Ministers, is entitled to make one appointment, but the First Minister and the deputy First Minister can appoint three each. That, again, is higher than is the case in Scotland and Wales, where they have 14 and eight special advisers respectively across all the Government. Even with the reduction in OFMDFM SpAds from eight to four, we would still have more special advisers than Scotland and Wales. In OFMDFM, we have junior Ministers to advise and support the First Minister and deputy First Minister, and we also have SpAds to advise and support the junior Ministers. That seems to be a little bit ridiculous.”
“<BR /> <BR />He explained during the Finance Committee meeting that his rationale for setting special advisers' pay at grade 5 of the Civil Service pay scale is that that is the level of civil servants with whom special advisers engage. Whether or not that should be the determining factor could also be looked at in more detail. I questioned Mr Allister at the Committee as to the savings that would be made through the enactment of his Bill. For obvious reasons, he was unable to give precise sums, but he did say that a substantial amount of money would be saved each year. When we look at the average cost of a special adviser at around £103,000, we see that substantial savings would be made were that to be reduced to a maximum of £78,000. At this time of austerity, we need to make all the savings that we can.”
“<BR /> <BR />A question arose about the comparisons that Mr Allister made between Northern Ireland and Scotland, Wales and Whitehall. Some Committee members believe that he was not comparing like with like. Once again, that is an area that can be explored in more detail and with more evidence at Committee Stage. I note that 98% of respondents to the consultation carried out by Mr Allister said that the salaries of SpAds should be reduced to bring them into line with what is paid in other devolved institutions, although we have heard some aspersions cast on Mr Allister's consultation that it did not throw the net widely enough, most of the respondents were individuals and no public or corporate bodies responded. Maybe Mr Allister would like to respond to that when he sums up this debate.”
“Clause 1 also requires the code for appointments to prescribe that special advisers must not be remunerated above the rate applicable to grade 5 civil servants, which is between £65,000 and £78,000 approximately. Mr Allister pointed out that the collective current cost of special advisers is in excess of £2 million and that the average individual cost is around £103,000. That certainly is a high salary. Ironically, in some cases, special advisers are paid more than the Ministers who they advise and work for. We are all led to believe that the buck stops with the Minister, but, with a salary of this magnitude, one wonders whether it should stop with the special adviser rather than the Minister. It seems ridiculous that special advisers are paid more than the heads of Departments, namely the Ministers.”
“In relation to special advisers being subject to Civil Service disciplinary proceedings, I asked Mr Allister if there was any need to change or amend the existing disciplinary code to include the work of SpAds. He thought that the code could still apply. I would welcome the opportunity to explore this area in more detail, perhaps at Committee Stage, with the advice of the head of human resources in the Civil Service or, indeed, the head of the Civil Service. Although special advisers are classified as temporary civil servants, they have a different role from civil servants and are not the same. We must ensure that that difference in role is reflected in the Civil Service disciplinary code in order to accommodate them.”
“Clause 1 aims to amend the Civil Service (Special Advisers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2013 to make special advisers subject to the prevailing Civil Service disciplinary process. That would require the code of conduct to provide that special advisers are subject to the processes and procedures of the disciplinary code operative in the Northern Ireland Civil Service. As was pointed out earlier, that would prevent Ministers from blocking attempts to discipline special advisers. As Mr Allister pointed out, the genesis of this seems to be an incident that arose in relation to the Red Sky affair. <BR /> <BR />Special advisers are classified as temporary civil servants. As such, they are supposed to be subject to the NICS code of ethics and a special adviser-specific code of conduct.”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. Tá mé sásta éirí anseo ar maidin le tacaíocht a thabhairt don Bhille seo a fhéachann le leasú a dhéanamh ar phá agus ar dhisciplín na gcomhairleoirí speisialta. <BR /> <BR />I support the Bill at this Second Stage, albeit with some reservations. Mr Allister is fast becoming the special adviser to the Assembly on special advisers, although he may not be rewarded with the same level of remuneration that is average for existing special advisers. Nonetheless, the SDLP welcomes this Bill and the areas that it seeks to probe and amend. <BR /> <BR />Mr Allister came to the Finance Committee last week and outlined the reasons behind tabling his Bill, those being the controversy surrounding the number, cost and disciplinary regime applicable to SpAds.”
“I listened to what Mr Lunn said about the establishment of the Budget Committee. Indeed, the SDLP has called for that. Is there any point in establishing a Budget Committee when the financial process has not been reformed? The timescale that exists at the moment for the Budget is such that it is presented almost as a fait accompli and pushed through the Finance Committee by accelerated passage, and that will continue if we do not reform the financial process. Therefore, in order to have effective budgetary scrutiny, there must be a financial process that lends itself to that.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-LeasCheann Comhairle. I welcome the news that the Minister has given us today that we are now a brucellosis-free zone or have that status. The Minister will remember that, a number of years ago, there were incidents of brucellosis being spread deliberately. What action needs to be taken to ensure that we maintain our brucellosis-free status in the future?”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Gabhaimse buíochas leis an Aire as ucht a fhreagra. Is í an cheist a ba mhaith liom cur ar an Aire: cad é mar is féidir leis a dhéanamh cinnte de go mbeidh ábaltacht agus tuiscint ar an Ghaeilge ag na speisialtóirí seo, mar shampla ag na síceolaithe oideachasúla? I thank the Minister for his answer. How can he help to ensure that those specialists, like educational psychologists, have a good understanding of the Irish language, which will enable them to carry out the work within the Irish-medium sector with a much greater degree of competence?”
“Does the Minister agree with me that it is the right of the governing bodies of sports to decide how they should best organise themselves and that it is not the role of the Government to interfere in that organisation?”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an cheist a fhreagairt. Tá ceist agam: an aontaíonn an tAire liomsa gur chóir go mbeadh sé faoi na forais atá ina ngobharnóirí ar na spóirt seo cinneadh a dhéanamh faoi cad é mar a ba chóir dóibh iad féin a eagrú agus gan an Rialtas a bheith ag cur isteach ar an cheart sin?”
“Unfortunately, we have not seen those new ways come to fruition. Perhaps the call that will go out from the House today will —”
“The Minister finished his answer to that question by assuring the House that the Department was:”
“He said that autism services have been unable to keep pace with the growing demand. In 2010, there were approximately 1,500 referrals for autism services and that had nearly doubled to 2,936 by March 2015.”
“Those are children who, if found to have ASD, will not have got the support that they required inside and outside school during the time that they spent waiting for a diagnosis to be completed. <BR /> <BR />In an answer to a question for oral answer that was asked by my colleague John Dallat in June this year, the Minister of Health stated:”
“There is no doubt that, without early and speedier diagnosis, children with ASD and special educational needs will not get the support that they require in school or through the health service. I cannot stress enough that one of the key aspects of ensuring that children with autism develop to their fullest potential is early intervention, early diagnosis and early statementing. <BR /> <BR />The current target for assessment is 13 weeks. At the end of April, 1,449 children were waiting for assessment; more than 900 had been waiting longer than the recommended 13 weeks. Of those, 476 had been waiting more than 26 weeks and more than 78 children had been waiting over a year to be assessed.”
“In 2014-15, there were 6,045 children with ASD out of a school population that had not increased very much. It is therefore very clear that the prevalence of autism is increasing in our society, but that is not being accompanied by the necessary increase in support and services and the necessary decrease in waiting times for diagnosis and early intervention. <BR /> <BR />The report also highlights the fact that males are five times more likely to be identified as having ASD than females, although the number of females is rising. Although the report highlighted that and brought the numbers to our attention, we are still aware of the growing pressure of the number of children, young people and adults with autism and the challenge that that pressure places on already fragile autism services.”
“That is exactly what our motion is asking for: collaborative, joined-up working between those two Departments, which are required under the Autism Act to work together on the issue. <BR /> <BR />The motion refers 'The Prevalence of Autism (including Asperger's Syndrome) in School Age Children in Northern Ireland 2015'. That report has brought forward some thought-provoking figures. It has left us in no doubt that autism is more prevalent in society today than it was six years ago. In the past five years, the rate of autism has increased by 67% in school-age children, with one in 54 pupils attending school being diagnosed with ASD. The prevalence of autism has increased by nearly 1% between 2009-2010 and 2014-15, from 1·3% to 2·2%. In 2009-2010, there were 3,668 children with ASD out of a school-age population of 270,000.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Bill has many aims. It will place a duty on the Education Authority to request help from the health and social care trusts in all cases in which it considers that those bodies could help in the exercise of its functions. Very importantly, the Bill will contribute to the wider policy aim of reducing the time frame for the completion of statutory assessment and issue of a final statement by the authority from 26 weeks to 20 weeks. The then Minister of Health launched the autism strategy last year. Its aim is to ensure that all Departments work together to improve support for those living with autism.”
“I am extremely concerned about the waiting times for special educational needs assessments. The motion calls on the Minister of Health and the Minister of Education to work together to ensure that waiting times for diagnosis, intervention and statementing are reduced. Under the present circumstances, with no Minister of Health in place, the backlog will only get worse. <BR /> <BR />There can be no doubt about it: autism and special educational needs are both on the radar of the Minister of Education. We have the current special educational needs legislation making its way through the House. ASD has been on previous Health Ministers' agendas, through the autism strategy and the autism plan, but, unfortunately, I cannot say the same of the present Minister of Health, who is not even in the House today.”
“The autism strategy is a cross-departmental strategy introduced by the Health Minister and addressing the whole-life needs of people, families and carers living with autism in Northern Ireland. The Act required the Health Minister to lead on the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the new strategy, with other Departments obliged to cooperate. Of course, the Minister of Health is responsible and accountable to the House for the implementation of the Act, so what a disappointment it is that the Health Minister is not here today to respond to the various points made by those who will speak in the debate.”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Caithfidh mé a rá go bhfuil an-áthas orm a bheith anseo inniu chun an rún seo a mholadh don Tionól. I am pleased to be in the position to propose the motion today. As you may know, for a long time I have been an advocate of good services for people with autism, both children and adults. I must say that the House has been responsive to the needs of people with autism and passed the Autism Act in 2010-11. I was, of course, very proud to have my name as sponsor of that Bill. <BR /> <BR />The Autism Act recognised autism not just as a health issue or an education issue but as a cross-departmental issue and also as a developmental disability. Since then we have had the autism strategy 2013-2020 and the accompanying action plan for 2013-16.”
“Go raibh míle maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas leis an LeasChéad Aire as an fhreagra sin. That was question 4 for those who were not tuned in. <BR /> <BR />Will the fact that the First Minister has withdrawn from the North/South Ministerial Council have an impact on the Council's ability to reach the joint target of €175 million cross-border collaborative drawdown under Horizon 2020?”
“Ceist uimhir a ceathair, a Cheann Comhairle, le do thoil.”
“<BR /> <BR />Sin a bhfuil le rá agam ar an ábhar seo ag an bhomaite. Mar a dúirt mé, tá mé buíoch go raibh deis agam an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo a ardú sa Teach anseo inniu. Gabhaim buíochas arís leis na Comhaltaí a bhéas ag glacadh páirte sa díospóireacht. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to raise this important matter. Once again, I thank the Members who will participate in the debate in due course.”