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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“I thank the Member for his question. Direct negotiations with the European Commission, as a matter of international relations, are the responsibility of our national Government — the United Kingdom Government. Therefore, I have had no engagement with the European Commission on the establishment of a European Union office in Belfast. My work with our Government has focused on the issues facing businesses. It is informed by the issues that businesses raise with me or my officials. Businesses have not raised this issue with me.”
“<BR /> <BR />I am actively considering the establishment of a Northern Ireland skills council, an advisory body that would include business representatives, employee representatives, education representatives and individuals with expert knowledge of the emerging demands on the skills system in an ever-changing economic environment. An early priority for such a body would be to ensure that gender diversity and equality of opportunity were at the top of the education, skills and employability agenda. As I said, the development of a new skills system in Northern Ireland is a major undertaking, but it is imperative if Northern Ireland is to flourish over the next decade.”
“I also want us to enable young people to make those pathway choices earlier than the current prescriptive age of 16. <BR /> <BR />As the Chair said in her opening comments, collaboration and cooperation across government are key if we are to deliver on the ambition contained in any new skills strategy. Success requires a whole-government approach and is not just the responsibility of the Department for the Economy. I am pleased to say that every Department is represented on the project board that leads the strategy, and I hope that I have demonstrated that to you today by talking about the conversations I have had across government about skills, employability and economic recovery.”
“The synergies that we will need between education and further education are very important.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Committee report highlights lifelong learning as a theme. I have already stressed the importance that I place on that. It will be a key priority for the new strategy. For a range of reasons, we in Northern Ireland do not participate in learning beyond formal education. We languish at the bottom of the league table when compared with other European countries. That may be cultural, but we need a step change. We need to understand that a love of learning goes beyond the early years, school and university and that it is available to all of us at any stage in our life. As I have said before, we need to ensure that there is a pathway for everyone, whether that be into a job, into training or staying in education. We have already restarted our work on the 14- to 19-year-old project.”
“<BR /> <BR />The report also identifies inclusive learning in the workplace as a key theme. I have already referenced my intention to expand the apprenticeships programme and the policy work that we are doing to replace existing European social fund (ESF) projects. I recognise that individuals face a range of barriers to employment, including childcare and access to benefits. Those are issues that span multiple Departments and that I know are actively being considered by the respective Ministers. I had a very productive conversation last week with the Communities Minister about the intention to launch new skills programmes with the really complementary programme of Job Start so that the two can work together on skills and the employability issues that will be needed for the economic recovery pathway.”
“We also need to ensure that the public sector becomes a much larger player in the apprenticeship system and offers a range of public-sector apprenticeships. That will be key to our economic recovery. <BR /> <BR />I also want to increase the scale of the Assured Skills programme and short-term courses to assist individuals back into employment. As was pointed out in the debate, the Assured Skills programme is one of the huge successes in that policy area. Firms such as KPMG announced its centre of excellence for Northern Ireland, which created 200 new jobs in Northern Ireland, because it had access to the Assured Skills programme. We need to keep investing in the programme and lauding the flexibility that it offers employers as they seek to grow or even establish themselves here.”
“A key part of that investment will be to grow and expand our apprenticeship offering. We have made great progress on growing the apprenticeship system into new areas and at higher levels. We now have nearly 1,000 higher-level apprentices working and studying at foundation and degree level. That is in addition to the 9,000 apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3. One of my priorities was to support the system during the pandemic. That is why we introduced the support for employers to retain their apprentices and recruit new ones. As we look forward, we need to expand that initiative. We also need to expand apprenticeships by removing the current age restrictions so that everyone, irrespective of age, is able to retrain and gain skills.”
“I note that the Member from Fermanagh indicated the importance of online learning and access to better broadband, and I am excited to inform the House that, this week, we will announce the first live connection with Project Stratum, the £165 million intervention to provide first-generation broadband to rural parts of Northern Ireland from the DUP's confidence-and-supply deal with the Government. <BR /> <BR />The third theme usefully sets out some key points on how skills can assist the COVID response. As I said, that resonates very strongly on a number of different levels. I repeat my call for the Committee to support the funding for the recovery action plan. Investment is key. I have made a number of bids to the Executive for funding in the next financial year, including £50 million for a suite of skills interventions.”
“Indeed, we must ensure that more young people, like some of those on the call, are able to engage in the STEM pathways, with the success that they are already proving. <BR /> <BR />I also wholeheartedly agree with the points that were made around community-based learning. I am a passionate supporter of community education. I have seen at first hand the positive impact that community learning can have on people's lives. Not everyone will want to or can attend university or college, and we have to find a pathway that meets the needs of everyone in our society and ensures that no one is left behind.”
“That was a key issue raised by the OECD report published last year, and it will be a focus for me and for the Education Minister. Part of creating a more joined-up system will be to ensure that individuals have all the relevant information about career pathways to make informed choices about their future, and I do note the comments from Mr Stalford, Mr Stewart and Mr O'Dowd about careers advice. We need careers advice to be valuable, to be flexible and to indicate to young people that all pathways are equally valid and equally valued. <BR /> <BR />In reference to Claire Sugden's intervention, I had a really uplifting call with her and some members of the north coast business community to celebrate achievements of women on International Women's Day.”
“We already have some superb programmes such as Skills Focus and InnovateUs, which are delivered through our colleges and are aimed at supporting SMEs to upskill employees. We want to build on that success and provide further opportunity to help those companies to grow. I also intend to launch a suite of skills interventions that will assist individuals to gain the skills that they need in areas such as digital technologies and to gain employability skills and skills in leadership and management. That will be a £15 million investment over the next three years that will make a positive contribution to our economy. <BR /> <BR />The second theme deals with academic institutions and community learning. There is no doubt that we can and must have a more joined-up skills ecosystem in Northern Ireland.”
“My colleague Mr Stalford noted the number of jobs created in the tech sector during the pandemic. He quite rightly acknowledges the importance of matching skills with future jobs markets. It is essential that employers and individuals recognise the need to invest time and money in skills development. We no longer have the luxury of a job for life, and we all have a responsibility to prepare ourselves for the changes that are happening now and in the future. Increasingly, we need to make it clear that lifelong learning is a key to earning. <BR /> <BR />That point is very clearly articulated in the first theme in the report, supporting our people to greater employability. I am committed to supporting companies and individuals through the transition and, ultimately, to deliver the outcome of more people in better jobs.”
“Funding is undoubtedly a key component of the changes that are necessary. There is no doubt that we are losing ground to our competitors. There has been a disinvestment in skills over the past decade across the public and private sectors, and that is a trend that we must reverse. I look forward to Members who participated in the debate today supporting my bids to the Finance Minister to do just that. <BR /> <BR />I also agree that there is an opportunity to consider whether there are more efficient ways to deliver training and development, particularly given the move to online delivery as a consequence of the pandemic. I also believe that we need to change attitudes to learning and upskilling. Our economy is changing very quickly, with automation and digitisation transforming the workplace.”
“That position has changed dramatically, with unemployment figures at a record high and the potential for a further increase when the furlough scheme comes to an end. We also have a range of long-standing issues in the labour market, with low levels of productivity, high incidence of economic inactivity and a disproportionate number of people with low or no skills. I agree that the skills strategy has a key role to play in addressing the short-term challenges arising as a consequence of COVID and in addressing the long-term, systemic weaknesses in our economy that have bedevilled us for decades. That said, a strategy on its own cannot bring about the societal and cultural changes that are necessary to address those deep-seated issues. We will need everyone — government, business, education and communities — to play their part.”
“I was pleased to see a wide range of business organisations and other stakeholders endorse my plan, and I trust that I can count on the support of the Committee and the Assembly in calling for the Executive to fund that comprehensive plan to reopen, recover and rebuild the local economy. <BR /> <BR />In addition to my economic recovery action plan, officials in my Department have been working on a new skills strategy for Northern Ireland. Therefore, from my perspective, the Committee's report is timely and helpful. The context, however, in which we are developing the strategy has changed considerably over the past 18 months. When we began developing the strategy, the biggest challenge for businesses across Northern Ireland was access to skills and talent.”
“I apologise to the Chair of the Committee for being a little too late to hear her opening remarks. The debate started earlier than we had anticipated. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Chair and Members for their contributions to the debate. I welcome the focus on skills of the Executive, Assembly and other stakeholders. There has never been a more important time to focus on and invest in skills. Only last month, I published my economic recovery action plan with a firm emphasis on the importance of investing in skills, if we, as an Assembly and Executive, are serious about economic recovery.”
“I am confident that if we work together, not just in the Executive and Assembly but right across all spectrums of society, we will thrive as a nation.”
“<BR /> <BR />In relation to the motion, of course, I will work with my fellow Ministers on our immediate recovery plan and implementation and will continue to instigate the conversation and thinking to influence our longer-term aims of a globally competitive, regionally balanced and carbon-neutral economy, as per our joint commitments in the Programme for Government. <BR /> <BR />I, again, thank Members for their contributions to today's debate. While I do not underestimate the challenge ahead of us as we continue to respond to COVID-19 and its economic and societal impacts, now is not the time for petty point-scoring. Now is the time for real and genuine collaboration that puts our people and their economy first.”
“I need support from the Committee for the Economy, the Chamber and, indeed, wider society in helping me to gain the budget that I require to invest in skills. Without that investment in skills, economic growth and recovery potential will be stunted. Whilst my Department has led, and will continue to lead, on all aspects of that work, economic development is a shared responsibility for those across the entirety of government at both devolved and national level. I note that the Member from Fermanagh talked about the importance of infrastructure. Of course, my Department is delivering the largest infrastructure project ever delivered in Northern Ireland, Project Stratum, which is being delivered through DUP confidence-and-supply funding for Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />Looking ahead to that more stable and prosperous future, my Department has also been working on the development of an economic vision for Northern Ireland. That separate and more strategic piece aims to communicate a plan for the next decade, which will guide our longer-term economic ambitions and direction. That economic vision will also identify the core sectors and technologies where Northern Ireland can demonstrate global leadership and the opportunities that exist for us to take advantage of our strengths in those areas. The next decade for the Northern Ireland economy must be one of innovation. I am confident that, through an innovation-driven recovery, we will deliver long-term, positive outcomes for all people. <BR /> <BR />I also want to see funding that will allow me to deliver a comprehensive skills package.”
“<BR /> <BR />Four themes for recovery have been identified in the action plan: stimulating research and development and innovation; supporting a highly skilled and agile workforce; promoting investment, trade and exports; and building a greener economy. Within each of the four themes, a suite of actions has been developed to promote sustainable economic recovery. Needless to say, Members will understand that, as with the virus itself, the global economic consequences of COVID-19 are still unfolding. Therefore, it will be important that the action plan is agile and can evolve and adapt to meet the needs of the economy as we move though the crisis to recovery and back to economic prosperity.”
“In parallel, I will work with Executive colleagues to consider how best to support those who most require ongoing financial assistance within the designated budget available, as well as working on the pathway to recovery and resilience beyond the COVID nightmare. <BR /> <BR />In June 2020, I published our framework document, 'Rebuilding a Stronger Economy'. Guided by that document, my Department is preparing to publish its economic recovery action plan. The plan will set out the interventions required to assist people and businesses to adjust to and recover from the changing economic fundamentals caused by COVID-19 and EU exit.”
“Along with the UK Government initiatives, such as the self-employment income support scheme and the furlough scheme, collectively, we have provided financial assistance to all sectors and occupations throughout Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />I note and concur with the concerns raised in the motion with regard to the furlough scheme and the potential impact of its ending on 30 April. I have requested that the Chancellor reconsider that date, given that significant job losses would inevitably occur were it not to be extended. The economy needs more time for sustained recovery before that financial support for employers and individuals is removed. I will continue to work to that end.”
“It has provided in the region of half a billion pounds to tens of thousands of businesses and individuals. I will not outline the details of every scheme delivered by my Department, not least because my colleague Mr Buckley started to do that for me, but I will write to all Members to provide an overview. I am sure that Members, including the Chair of the Committee for the Economy, will agree that it compares very favourably to that of other Departments. My officials have sought to meet the challenge head-on, working tirelessly to turn around schemes that would ordinarily have taken weeks. We owe them our thanks for the work that they have done.”
“<BR /> <BR />I listened with some interest to the contribution from the Chair of the Economy Committee. Although I may not be a cheerleader for everything that the Conservative Party has done of late, we absolutely must recognise the unprecedented level of financial support given to Northern Ireland by our national Government, as well as the immense success of the national vaccine roll-out across the United Kingdom, which has meant that over 30% of our citizens in Northern Ireland have had at least one dose of the vaccine. As my colleague Mr Storey noted, being part of the United Kingdom matters. <BR /> <BR />Since last April, my Department has stepped up to the challenge of providing financial support for businesses, employers and individuals impacted on by COVID.”
“I do have to keep going. Mr Stewart raised some of the problems being faced by businesses because of the protocol. I can assure him that my Department has been cataloguing the issues and engaging directly with our Government on them. Mr Buckley called those supporting the protocol the pawns of the EU. If this were a game of chess, those people would already have knocked over their king and accepted defeat. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland is a great place in which to live, work and invest. I want to see us reach our full potential and grow our economy, but, to do so, we must recognise the frictions and damage created by the protocol. Unless we have full and unfettered access to our most important market in GB, we simply cannot maximise our opportunity for economic success.”
“Yes. Sometimes we have to ask the real SDLP to stand up, but in this case I will defend Mr Eastwood, because I think that he is genuinely reflecting the concerns of his constituents and writing to me asking for some help with the problems that the protocol is bringing for businesses.”
“I thank the Member for his intervention. Yes, the protocol is indeed the problem. We did not have to be here. There are those in the House who just today told us that we should be thankful for the protocol. I do not know many businesses that are thanking anyone for the bureaucracy, the hindrances to trade and the disruption of the UK's internal market.”
“Give me one second. Indeed, her party leader wrote to me asking for assistance to be given to businesses suffering as a direct result of the protocol. I will give way now.”
“She then spent some considerable time espousing the virtues of the protocol. Her party is a cheerleader for the protocol, so we should perhaps not be surprised by that. Ms McLaughlin cannot, however, hide her head in the sand and ignore the damage being done to businesses and consumers in Northern Ireland as a direct result of the protocol. Indeed, her own party —.”
“There is no one in the Chamber more acutely aware than I am of the economic damage done by these restrictions. As Mr Stalford pointed out, although others have called for longer and more extreme lockdowns, I have repeatedly highlighted the devastating effect that restrictions have on employment, our town and city centres, our high streets and the wider economy. No level of grants can compensate for the loss of trade incurred over the past year. The best way in which to support local businesses beyond this restrictions period is to have a safe and sustainable reopening of the economy. <BR /> <BR />Ms McLaughlin began the debate by outlining the choice that we face between constantly complaining and moaning or finding solutions. She set the bar of expectation high. I will leave it for others to judge for which of the two options she opted.”
“First of all, I thank Members for their contributions. <BR /> <BR />COVID-19 has not just been about the economy. As a public health crisis, it has created havoc with our children and young people's ways of life, especially through the unprecedented disruption to our education systems. It has split family units in a way that none of us could have imagined. It has put pressure on our heroic health service, and, most tragically of all, it has taken the lives of more than 2,000 people in Northern Ireland. The decisions to impose such restrictions have been aligned with the respective health protection regulations brought forward by the Minister of Health and supported by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA).”
“This issue is a source of great frustration to me. I have now brought two papers on click and collect to the Executive. So far, we have had one discussion and no decision. <BR /> <BR />If we want to reduce the inequality in how small independent retailers are treated vis-à-vis the big multinationals, we have to move to allow them to trade in some respect or another. Inevitably, that will include click and collect. I will again put forward my paper on the matter for discussion on Thursday. I hope that it can be resolved.”
“I will write to the Member about the issue in South Down. I crave equality for the citizens of Northern Ireland: equality in the UK's internal market and equality in the UK's e-commerce market so that all citizens in Northern Ireland are treated on the same basis as citizens right across the United Kingdom. The protocol interrupts that and causes a huge fissure. Equality is high on my agenda.”
“I think that the Member does not remember the first part of my answer to that question, in which I said that I would, at all times, act within my ministerial responsibilities and the code of office.”
“Yes, the issue of hauliers is hugely problematic for Northern Ireland. Indeed, I was talking to one haulage company in my constituency that admitted that it had no alternative but to raise prices. Those prices will, in turn, be passed on to consumers and businesses in Northern Ireland. The protocol inevitably brings less choice and higher prices. That is an inevitable outworking of the protocol. <BR /> <BR />I was also talking to Hospitality Ulster. It said that if we consider that export health certificates are due to run out in a few weeks, as is the grace period on chilled foods, and the fact that the food service industry is operating at around one-third of its normal level because of the shutdown, the protocol's problems will become more intense and deeper as time goes on.”
“Those are the problems of the protocol. It is for those who sit on the opposite Benches and deny those problems to explain that to families, individuals and businesses across Northern Ireland.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I have raised the e-commerce market in the United Kingdom on a number of occasions with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which is my reporting Department, and, indeed, with Michael Gove, who is undertaking work on most of the protocol issues. It is vital that we have a UK e-commerce market that thrives and that every business and individual in Northern Ireland can be part of in an equal way across the United Kingdom. That is not happening, and we have significant disruption with firms that simply will not commit to trading with Northern Ireland. That may be because they do not know the changed circumstances, it may be because the information came too late or it may be because the so-called grace period that Michael Gove announced runs out on 31 May.”
“There are areas such as aerospace, tourism and hospitality where the tail of recovery will be long and troublesome, so the extension of furlough is key. For tourism and hospitality, extending the cut in the VAT rate is also key. I know that my party colleagues at Westminster are taking up all those issues, but it is crucial that we send a united voice on that important issue.”
“I absolutely agree with the Member's last comment that messaging is important and can have a significant impact on businesses. I had a meeting with some business organisations and was disturbed to hear that, because of the issues and the problems and the longevity of the pandemic, many people had had mental health problems and some had contemplated suicide. That is no way to run our society. It is difficult, and messaging is key in all that. <BR /> <BR />Yes, we want to open up our economy safely and as swiftly as the transmission of the disease allows. I will, of course, work with colleagues in order to bring that about. However, the House could support us, and there are things that our national Government could do, such as extending furlough.”
“No amount of schemes or help are substitutes for an open economy that is trading freely. In the coming weeks, I will work with the TEO task force, but I will also bring forward my plans for economic recovery and, most importantly, plans that, I hope, the Executive will respond to for a skills budget for Northern Ireland that will not just open the economy but help it to trade successfully with appropriate skills.”
“I thank the Member for his question. All of us in the House must be rightly proud of the way that our health service has responded to the most difficult period in our history and to the vaccination roll-out. I am hopeful because we have been managing to get significant numbers of people vaccinated. That is a credit to Patricia Donnelly and her team, who are organising the programme. We should all acknowledge that fact. However, as we progress, we need to make sure that we open our economy safely and for the long term and break the cycle that we have been in of opening and shutting it, which is destroying so many businesses. <BR /> <BR />On Friday, I met my local chamber in Banbridge, and it was disturbing to hear how so many businesses are literally hanging on by their fingertips at this time.”
“I cannot provide the exact date. However, this afternoon, I will discuss the issue with the senior team in my Department, and we hope to launch the consultation in the very near future.”
“My Department holds no database for those students, and I have no legal remit to ask universities or institutions in Great Britain to authorise payments to those students. It is not within my legal purview at this time. However, those students are not without help. Just as EU, Scottish or Welsh students can gain help through the schemes in Northern Ireland, students studying in Great Britain will gain similar help through the schemes that are there. Just recently, Scotland announced an additional £30 million for hardship, Wales £40 million and England £50 million. I encourage students to use the schemes in the institutions that they belong to.”
“I thank the Member for her question. She has raised an important and, dare I say, topical question. I was delighted to announce a package of almost £38 million of support for students in Northern Ireland. As the Member rightly said, that support will deal with the £500 individual payments to all students. It will increase the hardship funds that are available to our institutions by another £8·5 million, including a focus on the mental health of young students and the issues around digital poverty that many young students face. I recognise that, and that is why I asked for and gained a support package that is probably the most generous in our United Kingdom. <BR /> <BR />About 15,000 students from Northern Ireland study in institutions throughout the rest of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.”
“I expect to see significant disruption at that level as well.”
“I will of course respond to that, because it is an important point. Perhaps the tone of Mr Allister's question reflects his position all along that he does not want Stormont to succeed or to have the institutions here. <BR /> <BR />In my first answer to the question, I said clearly that I would act at all times in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland and according to my ministerial responsibilities. I take those seriously and will do that, but I will continue to oppose the protocol that has brought such damage to the economy in Northern Ireland. For the first six weeks of this year, most of our time has been focused on the issue of the movement of goods. Firms across Northern Ireland are about to put in what are called "supplementary declarations". Those supplementary declarations will deal with the issue of tariffs.”
“<BR /> <BR />Our Government need to give us greater clarity on the successor programmes, including the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF), and on how we can work within the parameters not just to get additional funding for training needs and apprenticeships but to obtain real investment in Northern Ireland that recognises the needs and priorities of the Northern Ireland Executive.”
“I thank the Member for her question. She takes us into the territory of the replacement programmes for European funding and how that will work in future. It is important that we address the issues around apprenticeships. No matter what the political persuasion, I do not think that anyone in the House would deny that I have absolutely championed young people and apprentices in Northern Ireland at every opportunity. It is important that we look at the young people who are in our training networks so that they can have a good start in life. I will continue to work to identify that programme.”