Diane Dodds
West Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Minister, that is a brilliant segue into the question that I will ask. Just over 5% of women who are now seen within the 14-day target for a suspected breast cancer in Northern Ireland. That has happened since the list was regionalised. I get the fact that cancer cases are rising, but —”
“Minister, for Members and those who are listening to the debate, it is important that you tell us what "actively being considered" means on a day-to-day basis.”
“Thank you, Minister. The Muckamore inquiry report demonstrates a shameful period for our health service, and no one involved can, in any shape or form, come out of this with any kind of credibility.”
“Let me be clear: experimental treatment on children that can have lifelong implications is unconscionable. Children of 11 or 12 are in no position to give clear consent to the use of such drugs, especially when those administering the treatments had them banned because of the lack of evidence on their long-term impacts.”
“Once again, I will speak in the House about puberty blockers and the nationwide trial run by King's College. I now understand that the Government will issue new guidance that will allow such a trial to go ahead.”
“It is now anticipated that more than eight out of 10 couples in which the woman is under 40 will conceive naturally, but that leaves two out of 10 who will need additional interventions. Over a lifespan, that is a fairly substantial number of people.”
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“<BR /> <BR />In the past number of weeks, I was delighted to be at the opening of a new college in Banbridge, which represents a £15 million investment in the future of skills in Northern Ireland. A new college has also been opened in Armagh, which represents a £35 million investment. A new college in the south-west represents a £35 million investment. We are on-site with a new college in Coleraine, have a contract out for a new college in Ballymena and have a new college in Dungannon. Those are all really important investments in the future of skills in Northern Ireland.”
“The Member has addressed something that even political opponents in the Chamber will admit has been a passion of mine since taking up office. If we are to grow the Northern Ireland economy, we have to grow the skills of our people and widen the opportunities for people to get more and better skills. <BR /> <BR />We have a fantastic programme called Assured Skills, which operates academies. The Member will be very familiar with the advanced manufacturing sector in his constituency. We have run very successful academies for people in that sector and in the wider construction sector. Welding is one example. All the participants in a recent Assured Skills academy on welding that was run at the North West Regional College achieved employment after they had finished.”
“It is really important that we launch a new drive to promote the provenance, safety and traceability of food in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />A short while ago, I was delighted to visit the Foyle Food Group up in Londonderry. I was also delighted to see a tweet from the British ambassador to Washington, who had been able to enjoy steak from Northern Ireland. It was the first meat provided by the United Kingdom to America in a long time, and it came from Northern Ireland. I understand that many of our companies are looking for USDA approval. The opportunities are enormous.”
“That question comes up regularly. It is important that the Member acknowledge that some of our restaurants, food and hospitality outlets are amazing at sourcing and promoting local food in Northern Ireland. I am constantly amazed at the breadth and variety and at the lengths to which our restaurants go to promote local food. We therefore do not have to look very far to do that. <BR /> <BR />Through Invest NI, we continue to work with local companies and the local agri-food sector to promote Northern Ireland produce. Recently, in conjunction with the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, I announced a review of the agri-food sector. I encourage the House and those who are listening to respond to that review.”
“Of course, I take a contrary view to the Member. I think that the appointment of Trevor Ringland is an entirely positive one. There is room for all of us to do our bit to promote Northern Ireland as a wonderful place to live, to invest and to do business in. It can only help to grow jobs and prosperity in Northern Ireland. The Member should remember that it is not only Noraid's voice that needs to be heard in America.”
“Everyone in the House recognises and acknowledges the real difficulties that our hotels, restaurants etc have experienced over the past year. We have put many schemes in place to support them over the past year, and I hope that our tourism recovery action plan will help them to recover from a very difficult time.”
“The Member is absolutely right. In the middle of lockdown, many of us relied heavily on pop-up offerings of food and drink and so on when we were out and about. That area that will continue to grow over the next number of years. <BR /> <BR />Taste Causeway was funded via Invest NI's collaborative growth programme. It was awarded a phase 2 grant of £169,200. That funding allowed Taste Causeway to draw in further funding from DAERA, Tourism NI and the local council, which in many ways enhanced the experience and the drive for growth in one of the most important aspects of the industry. <BR /> <BR />We have just launched our tourism recovery action plan. That is a fully funded action plan that, we hope, will help to revive and revitalise not only tourism but the food and drink element over the next year.”
“For example, under Tourism NI’s recent experience development programme for 2020-21, food and drink experiences represented approximately one third of successful awards, which is commensurate with the overall contribution to the economy. A total of 11 food and drink tourism businesses were awarded over £1·5 million to enhance the experience that they offer to visitors.”
“<BR /> <BR />I recently launched the next phase of my tourism recovery action plan to respond to the devastating impact of COVID-19. The plan includes a range of measures to stimulate consumer confidence and demand and to enhance the competitiveness of our tourism sector. Food and drink will be an integral part of those measures as the continued development of the sector remains critical to our recovery.”
“I thank the Member for her question. Food and drink tourism plays an essential role in the visitor economy. In 2019, 5·3 million overnight trips in Northern Ireland generated over £1 billion of revenue. Food and drink accounted for approximately 30% of that spend: £350 million. Tourism NI research tells us that visitors position food and drink as one of the top five factors when choosing a destination. The Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink in 2016 played a central role in showcasing our food revolution and resulted in Northern Ireland being awarded the world’s best food destination at the International Travel and Tourism Awards in 2018-19, which highlighted the growing strength and recognition of our food and drink offering.”
“I thank the Member for his question. It is vital that we enable students to get as much support as we can provide. For that reason, I ensured that, in my last financial package, money was allotted not just to the universities but to the student bodies so that they could reach out among their peers and offer guidance on and help with mental health issues. Each university has a slightly different way of tackling this, but I ask students not to feel alone. There is help there, and I want the universities to be proactive with their students in ensuring that they reach out and give the maximum help that they can.”
“I have met student representative bodies and will continue to do so. Throughout last year, the financial measures that we put in place for students were probably the most generous in the whole of the British Isles. I am not undermining or in any way denying the difficulties that students had. From personal experience, I know how difficult it was for them. I know that they experienced loneliness and an increase in mental health issues as they went through a year that was, literally, like no other.”
“I absolutely agree that students need to know now. Last year, the way in which the pandemic developed meant that many students had taken on rental agreements, which are private contracts with houseowners. I am not against a working group, but it is for the universities to set out that information for students very quickly. I understand that Queen's and Ulster University have already done that. Stranmillis has communicated to all its students that it intends to return to on-site learning as quickly as possible. I am told that St Mary's will inform its students after 21 June.”
“<BR /> <BR />As our universities are autonomous institutions, the model and implementation of provision is for them to consider on the basis of the public health advice. However, Ulster University and Queen's University have informed me that they have already written to their students to set out their vision for the new academic year, and I am pleased that both are committed to a return to face-to-face learning for our students. I am hopeful that that will mean that our students will regain the learning and, indeed, the social experience that they deserve.”
“I thank the Member for the question, which is very timely and extremely important. It is essential that students are kept informed of teaching arrangements, and I have written to our higher education institutions about that. I have reminded them of their legal responsibilities towards students and how they carry those out. <BR /> <BR />With vaccination now being offered to over-18s, reduced levels of virus transmission and positivity and the availability of testing, I believe that we should be facilitating a return for all students in the new term. I have asked Executive colleagues to consider the current advice, and we have agreed an increase in face-to-face teaching and for student extracurricular and support activities to be resumed.”
“The Assembly will have to address the way we support students, whether they are in Northern Ireland or studying in, for example, London, where the costs of living and accommodation are extremely high. Of course, we will have to balance that across the Executive with the funds that are available for support to our students. <BR /> <BR />One of the crucial issues that the Assembly will have to grapple with is how we support our undergraduates. We have our consultation on how to support postgraduate students. That will be a whole-Executive decision because, of course, the financial ramifications of that decision will go across the whole Executive.”
“Yes, obviously, which is why I launched the consultation. In England the maximum amount of support is over £11,000; in Wales it is over £17,000; in Scotland it is £10,000; and in the Republic of Ireland postgraduates receive a loan to cover course fees of between €2,000 and €6,270. <BR /> <BR />I keep saying over and over that there is a central mantra in all the documents that I have produced over the last number of weeks. We have our 10X vision for the Northern Ireland economy. We have launched our skills consultation. In order to drive forward prosperity, jobs and growth in Northern Ireland, we have to retain skills at all levels in the economy.”
“If we want to drive forward our economy, we have a duty to look at that very favourably. I also think that we need to ensure that more of our students stay at home with us and, therefore, drive the economy. We will have to look at those issues, particularly the issue of how we fund those students and hope to retain them closer to the home economy.”
“As the Member knows, the consultation is out, and it will be for people to make that case during the consultation. I am quite exercised about it, and we introduced the consultation with a view to a change in support levels as quickly as we could because it is essential not just for individual students or for the good of universities but to drive forward the economy so that we retain support where we need it most, whether that is support of students who go to the Republic of Ireland to study or those who go to England and Wales. <BR /> <BR />As I have said, there are two principles that should guide this matter. One is that we do not place an unfair burden on students. I do not believe that the total financial burden should rest with undergraduate students or postgraduate students.”
“However, in seeking to resolve that, we must be careful not to simply replicate the type and level of support in place in other jurisdictions when it would be inappropriate to do so, especially when that results in increased financial burdens being solely placed on students. Moreover, we must also be careful not to create perverse incentives. When additional postgraduate support was first made available in England, for example, it resulted in universities there increasing their level of tuition fees, thereby taking away any advantage to the individual student. As such, we need a fair and balanced support system, including the consideration of repayment terms that will not unnecessarily become a financial burden to the individual student.”
“The public consultation was published on 26 April 2021 and will be open until 25 June 2021. I hope to be in a position to publish my response to the consultation, along with any emerging policy proposals, shortly thereafter. The implementation of any policy changes from that consultation will most likely take place in the next Assembly mandate, but I hope that it can be brought forward as quickly as possible. <BR /> <BR />I clearly recognise the current differences in the levels of available support for Northern Ireland students compared with students elsewhere in the United Kingdom.”
“I beg to introduce the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill [NIA 22/17-22], which is a Bill to make provision about leave and pay for employees whose children have died.”
“I thank the Chair of the Committee and, indeed, the whole Committee for their support of the SR. It is important that we help those who have suffered during the pandemic. The SR is temporary, and it will help to alleviate some concern and ensure nationwide consistency for the accreditation. <BR /> <BR />Thank you for your support, and I thank the Assembly for allowing the SR to proceed.”
“The Utility Regulator and the Consumer Council have indicated their support for the amendment. <BR /> <BR />I seek the Assembly's support for the order to be made.”
“The consultation closed on 29 January, and BEIS decided to implement the proposal. The legislation is temporary, lasting for only one year from the date of coming into operation and allowing Northern Ireland's CHP operators to submit 2019 data. Implementation in GB will necessitate a minor legislative amendment to update the CHPQA standard. <BR /> <BR />The order seeks to maintain a consistency of approach across the UK, and no additional cost to business, charities or voluntary bodies is anticipated. <BR /> <BR />In advance of today's debate, the proposal was shared with Executive colleagues and the Committee for the Economy. I received no comments reflecting the technical nature of the amendment and, I presume, there was a recognition of the need to maintain consistency of practice across all UK jurisdictions that operate the scheme.”
“CHP operators expressed concern to BEIS that COVID-19 and the associated nationwide and regional restrictions changed the demands of customers and that that had an adverse impact on heat and power ratios. <BR /> <BR />The CHPQA programme operates on a calendar year basis, and the concern is that some CHP schemes will be unable to obtain the required benchmark to qualify as a good-quality CHP for 2020 and, therefore, will be unable to qualify for certification in 2021. <BR /> <BR />BEIS published a UK-wide consultation on 15 December 2020 seeking views on a temporary proposal to amend the certification process that will allow effective participants who can provide appropriate evidence on the impact of COVID-19 to choose to use the 2019 operational data in place of their disrupted 2020 data for their 2021 certification.”
“CHPQA aims to monitor, assess and improve the quality of UK combined heat and power. The programme provides the opportunity for CHP schemes to demonstrate that their CHP is good quality in accordance with the criteria of the CHPQA standard. <BR /> <BR />Successful certification provides eligibility to a range of benefits, such as, for Northern Ireland operators, climate change levy exemption. The programme is administered by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in consultation with the devolved Administrations and has been in operation across the UK since 2001. In 2019, 41 CHP schemes in Northern Ireland were accredited under the programme.”
“<BR /> <BR />The combined heat and power quality assurance programme (CHPQA) is a UK-wide government initiative providing a practical, determinate method for assessing all types and sizes of combined heat and power schemes.”
“I am seeking the Assembly's approval for this draft order, laid before the Assembly under article 66(2) of the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003. My Department makes the order under powers conferred by articles 52 to 55F and 66(3) of the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003. It is subject to the draft affirmative procedure and therefore must be approved by a resolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly before it can be made. This is a temporary amendment, lasting for one year, to the Renewables Obligation Order (Northern Ireland) 2009 and is necessary in order for Northern Ireland to maintain consistency of approach across the UK and to ensure that eligible combined heat and power (CHP) operators in Northern Ireland are not disadvantaged.”
“I am completely mindful of that fact. Let me just say, "Thank you" to the Economy Committee and to colleagues for their support for the measure. It is important that we give businesses every opportunity to recover from the very difficult period that they have been through. We will continue to try to help them as best we can.”
“It is essential that company directors in Northern Ireland have the same protection as is enjoyed by their counterparts in the rest of the United Kingdom and for the same period. Accordingly, my Department has introduced regulations to ensure that wrongful trading provisions also remain suspended in Northern Ireland until 30 June 2021. <BR /> <BR />The regulations have been agreed by the Economy Committee, and my Executive colleagues were advised prior to the debate. I ask, therefore, that the Assembly approve the regulations.”
“It is likely that many of those companies could, given time, regain their solvency and profitability once normal trading resumes. Provision was therefore included in the Act to give temporary exemption to directors from any personal liability for any worsening of a company's financial position until 30 September 2020. As the pandemic has had a longer and deeper impact on the economy than was originally anticipated, I introduced regulations in December 2020 to reinstate the measure for a further period ending on 30 April 2021. A decision has now been made by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) that the measure to protect directors should be further extended until 30 June 2021.”
“Wrongful trading occurs where a director permits a company that is known to be insolvent to continue trading, thereby increasing the loss to creditors. If the company is subsequently wound up, the director can be ordered by the High Court to make a contribution to the company's assets out of his or her own pocket. <BR /> <BR />There is no doubt that the measures taken to curb the spread of coronavirus will have pushed many normally solvent and profitable companies into financial difficulties. There is, therefore, an obvious danger that, if directors are worried about the possibility of incurring personal liability if they continue to operate, they will opt in favour of closure to protect themselves. That would, of course, be to the detriment of their employees and the wider economy.”
“I seek the Assembly's approval of a statutory rule (SR) that has been made under powers contained in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020. The Act includes five temporary provisions to assist companies in financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic. The measures are identical to those that have been put in place in Great Britain. As many Members will recall, I have brought forward regulations in recent months in order to extend the period during which four of the five temporary measures are to apply. I have done so each time to ensure that local businesses enjoy the same support and assistance as those in the rest of the United Kingdom. <BR /> <BR />The regulations that I now ask you to approve relate to the fifth temporary measure, which is the suspension of liability for what is known as "wrongful trading".”
“That is hugely important for the people who have been excluded from the targeted intervention area and for those for whom we received incorrect data from Land and Property Services. We are working on the issue. We are trying to identify additional funding within the state aid envelope that we have for the scheme to ensure that we can bring more people into the target area and to make sure that we are not excluding anyone. The Department is working on those important issues. It is a massive scheme — the largest infrastructure project that has been undertaken in Northern Ireland. The scheme was made possible through confidence-and-supply funding of £165 million, with additional investment from Fibrus adding to its value. It is exciting that, at the end of the project, Northern Ireland will have one of the most advanced networks in Europe.”
“The objective of the scheme is to try to spread the tourism offer and therefore the benefit from tourism. Obviously, it will have a dramatic impact on the north coast, the Fermanagh lakelands and maybe in south Down and other more well known areas, but it is available to everyone and every part of Northern Ireland. It is part of the recovery of not just tourism and hospitality but the overall economy. It is part of the aim and objective of our economic recovery action plan and what we are trying to do to ensure that we have a regionally balanced economy in which everyone can prosper.”
“I remind the Member that we have allocated £20 million for advertising and marketing and £17 million for other tourism support programmes. That, along with the money in the city deals, which will be a medium-term objective of tourism's recovery, mean that, once again, we will get to the high watermark that we achieved in 2019.”
“I hope that people will be able to avail themselves of it and that, like the high street stimulus scheme, it will continue to stimulate demand in that part of the economy so that we can continue to help it to recover.”
“I am absolutely adamant that we support tourism and hospitality because of the dramatic and terrible impacts that COVID has had on that part of our economy. Over 70,000 jobs are at stake in that part of the economy. Many of them are part-time and done by women or young people who do part-time hours to support themselves at college and so on. <BR /> <BR />I have a number of schemes in my economic recovery action plan to support that sector. The holiday at home voucher scheme is one. There is a budget of £2 million for the scheme. That is, obviously, a finite amount of money, and when it is done, it is done. Therefore, it will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.”
“Again, I discussed that with colleagues. Northern Ireland has a low infection rate but a comparatively higher rate than that in England, Scotland or Wales. Therefore, that cannot be the reason for restricting travel from GB to Northern Ireland. Of course, we are wary of and want to be protected from some of the COVID variants that we have heard about, but, again, many of those variants are already in the Republic or in Scotland, England and Wales, yet the infection rates in GB are lower. <BR /> <BR />We cannot continue with that situation. For the sake of our people and of allowing family and friends to visit and businesses to grow and to get us into the GB market with a good campaign for the summer, we need to review that across the common travel area.”
“It is guidance, but, nevertheless, it is impossible to go into the GB market with a tourism campaign while having such guidance in place. I discussed that with Executive colleagues, and I look forward to Northern Ireland being treated equally across the common travel area and certainly across the rest of the United Kingdom. That is important for business.”
“I absolutely agree with the Member on that point. Today, I launched the Northern Ireland tourism campaign for the summer. Realistically, we know that the vast majority of the business that will come to our hotels and hospitality sector will be from the home market. That campaign will encourage people to explore Northern Ireland and to get out and about and maybe see things that they have forgotten about or lost contact with over the past number of years. I very much hope that that campaign is successful. <BR /> <BR />However, there will not be enough business in Northern Ireland to sustain our economy or to grow tourism if we rely only on the home market. Therefore, it is very strange that we are the only part of the United Kingdom that has health guidance that suggests that if someone comes here, they have to isolate for 10 days.”
“Of course, many of the difficulties that businesses encounter are not because of Brexit but because of the protocol. They are because parties in this House voted for, and stridently asked for, the rigorous implementation of that protocol, even though 75% of businesses in the same survey acknowledged that they had difficulties with their supply chains and businesses in GB. We really need to look at the whole picture for investment in Northern Ireland, and we need to offer people a holistic view of what Northern Ireland has to offer. I hope that the Government are listening and continue to listen, and that the EU will stop its stubborn trajectory of punishing Northern Ireland and not helping as it claimed, so many times in the past, that it was willing to do.”
“As I said in a previous answer, investors come to Northern Ireland for a wide variety of reasons. It can be can be about the standard of living or the skills of our people. Many investors whom I have spoken to as they come to Northern Ireland talk about that collaboration between university and business that is so important to the future of the economy. Many come because of the clusters of innovation that we now have in our economy. It is not just about one thing; it is about the whole offering that the Northern Ireland economy makes. <BR /> <BR />In relation to the protocol, we must absolutely sort out the damage that it is doing to supply chains and businesses. I write weekly to Lord Frost about the difficulties that they encounter in their trade from GB to NI.”
“As I indicated, it is not a practice that many in the House would support. We want to see people treated fairly, in line with the conditions that they have signed up to in their workplace. Right now, if anyone feels that they have been treated unfairly or illegally, I advise them to seek advice through either the Law Centre or the Labour Relations Agency. It is important that we protect everyone in society. As I said, I am also working on a wider range of employment issues, and these will come to the House in due course.”
“We will be bringing measures that will cover a wider range of employment rights as soon as we get the first piece of legislation through, which is the parental bereavement leave.”
“I thank the Member for her question. This morning, I signed off the final draft of the first piece of legislation that we will do in this House around rights for workers. That is the parental bereavement leave Bill. I hope that this will be agreed at the Executive this week and will reach the Floor of the House very quickly. It is hugely important in giving parents statutory rights in such a difficult situation. <BR /> <BR />The Department is also working on another, wider range of measures around employment rights and looking at many of the issues that have come to the fore over the last year. They include things like the practice of hire and fire, which is quite wrong. Employers should take the time to explain what they need to do and, if they need to restructure, do that without impacting on workers' rights.”
“<BR /> <BR />To date, Fibrus Networks has completed work on some 1,041 premises through Project Stratum, with more premises to benefit from access to improved broadband services shortly. Fibrus Networks has a target of connecting approximately 19,500 premises in 2021 and is on track to achieve this. The Member will be hugely interested to hear that, in Newry and Armagh, 8,101 premises will be connected under Project Stratum. When this is complete, that will mean that 99·5% of his constituency will have access to superfast broadband.”
“I thank the Member for his question and, indeed, for his very obvious interest in this issue. Project Stratum is the largest telecommunications infrastructure project undertaken by my Department and will utilise public funding, secured under the confidence-and-supply agreement, together with Fibrus Networks’s investment, to deliver gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure to more than 76,000, primarily rural, premises across Northern Ireland. Following contract award in November 2020, the deployment of infrastructure commenced immediately. Work is under way in the first five deployment areas: Coalisland, Killyleagh, Ballycastle, Kilkeel and Castlewellan. Indeed, I had the great pleasure of talking to people in Coalisland who have been the first to be connected through this project.”
“Of course, we have to be absolutely clear that investors come where they have strong supply chains and that, if those supply chains are broken by the protocol, that is a problem as we go forward.”