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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“Project Stratum is new and exciting. It is not available in any other part of the United Kingdom. It will provide greater connectivity, greater regional balance and help our economy to be more competitive. The current issues with the pandemic and the restrictions have clearly demonstrated how connectivity, and not just by road, rail or air but in the digital sense, is so vital for our economy going forward. <BR /> <BR />Many of the firms and companies that I talk to about investing in Northern Ireland have indicated, some of them very recently, that access to good broadband schemes is important but that the skills and resilience of our people in dealing with the huge difficulties that we have had are of major importance if we are to attract investment to Northern Ireland.”
“The business support schemes that are supporting businesses during the periods of restrictions remain the same. I indicated that, because it was so close to Christmas, many of our retail businesses should receive an enhanced payment, but I was told that that was not possible on this occasion and that doing so might even delay funding being paid out. We will, however, continue to work to ensure that businesses receive their funding as quickly as possible. I do not recognise this as being a failure. These are complex schemes that have to be delivered with assurance, as they involve the taxpayer's money.”
“To date, 111 applications have been received, and officials will be working as quickly as possible to verify those applications and get payments out.”
“As I have said before in the House, the COVID restrictions schemes fall into two parts. One is the local restrictions scheme delivered by the Department of Finance, and I am not aware of and do not have up-to-date details in relation to that scheme. The second one is the restrictions one, which is being delivered by my Department. That grant scheme opened up for business on 28 October and made its first payment on 6 November. Almost half of all its payments are now out, and that represents about £3·6 million of assistance to date. All applications that have had an accountant's letter for verification have been paid, and Invest NI officials worked over the weekend on others that are more difficult to verify. Part B of the scheme opened on 18 November.”
“First of all, I indicate to the Member that 97% of the target intervention area for Project Stratum is rural Northern Ireland or settlements of less than 1,000 people. As I have said before, that is hugely important for the connectivity of the economy, for the balancing of the economy in Northern Ireland and for making our economy more competitive. In terms of the actual broadband, Fibrus has a contract to deliver on the specifics of its particular contract. However, we recognise that these things are changing and moving very fast, and we will try to keep up with that, given the constraints of any particular contract that the company has.”
“That is exciting not just for the individuals and families but for the connectivity and competitiveness of the economy in Northern Ireland.”
“Of course, I was delighted that we were able to announce the beginning of Project Stratum. That is good news for Northern Ireland, and it is a direct result of the confidence and supply arrangement that the DUP had with the Conservative Government. It will be a lasting legacy for Northern Ireland. There are a number of premises that will not benefit in those target areas, and we are committed to working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to make sure that we can include the vast and overwhelming majority of those premises within the intervention area. This is an exciting project; 76,000 homes in Northern Ireland that are difficult to reach will have broadband and high-speed internet access.”
“That was one of the issues that was raised. I think that, if it is identified as an issue by the Public Health Agency, it is incumbent on the Executive to make money available for that.”
“These are issues that the Executive will take forward. I continue, of course, at all times, to have conversations with the wider hospitality industry and the retail industry etc. However, the Executive Office, officials from my Department, the Health Department and the Public Health Agency are involved in the rest.”
“At my request, part B of the grant scheme specifically indicates that those who are not directly in the supply chain but cannot operate because they are part of the economy that is closed should be considered as well.”
“I congratulate the Member on a brave attempt to throw confusion over the issue. When I indicated that we would separate the two parts of the grant scheme, it was before we were to have a further period of restrictions. These schemes will, of course, run in parallel, and they will take account of the new timescales for those restrictions to apply.”
“I will, of course, correct the Member and indicate to him that the decision that was taken on the previous occasion was taken with the support of the Health Minister. In fact, it mirrored almost identically, except for close-contact services and coffee shops, the request in the Health Minister's paper. <BR /> <BR />Furthermore, the decision to close down on 27 November is also at the request and recommendation of the Health Minister, backed up by the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Officer. That is clear and has been respected by the Executive as a whole.”
“<BR /> <BR />I do not have the figures for the finance grant, but I have given freely and transparently the figures for the COVID restrictions grant. I will continue to work in a transparent way with the Assembly on this issue.”
“It will be no surprise to you that I advocate, at all times, for an open and free economy that is able to trade safely in these COVID pandemic times. That is difficult. Many people will have seen the agonies that the Executive have put themselves through with the restrictions over the last period. That is because the balance is very difficult to get right. However, it is also imperative that we recognise that, in closing down our economy, we impair the life chances of our people and our community. That weighs heavily on my mind. I never fail to take the opportunity to advocate on behalf of those people. COVID has disproportionately impacted on the life chances of the young, women and the working poor. We need to see our economy open up again before Christmas.”
“Twenty-four young people took part in that skills academy, which was delivered online at the height of COVID, and 23 of those young people are employed today.”
“We already know that COVID has not had an equal impact across sectors of our economy. Sectors like hospitality and the high street have been very adversely impacted by COVID, but some sectors have actually powered ahead in this really difficult and challenging period. We continue to see significant growth in the numbers of people of all ages who are able to gain employment in the digital and tech sectors, for example. We have been looking at how we can help young people to get into those sectors, particularly through the assured skills academy routes. I often mention the academy that we ran with Microsoft, because it was a fantastic way for young people to gain experience of that sector and of employment.”
“It has been significantly oversubscribed, and I am therefore pleased that the Finance Minister has allocated a further £3 million to that grant scheme, which we will be able to open up again. I have also asked Invest NI to look at the thresholds in that grant scheme so that it is open to a wider range of small businesses.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I am on record as saying, over and over again, that the best way to help businesses is to help them to trade in an open, safe and effective way. I deeply regret that we will have two further weeks of restrictions in the run-up to Christmas, but the Health Minister has advised that that is necessary to stop our hospitals being overrun. <BR /> <BR />It will be difficult for those individuals who are impacted on. One of the ways that we can try to help businesses is to help them have a dual offering through some online presence as well. Back in October, we introduced the digital selling capability grant, which was a small tester grant to see how that would work in the economy.”
“The majority of support is being provided to those who occupy premises through the localised restriction support scheme that is run by the Department of Finance. <BR /> <BR />I have said repeatedly that we need to find ways to live with the virus. Therefore, facilitating the safe reopening of our economy is, of course, the most effective way in which we can help those across society who are adversely impacted by the restrictions. Utilising assessments, such as that produced by my Department on the potential economic impact of the four-week circuit breaker, will help the Executive to take balanced decisions around the timing, scope and duration of restrictions.”
“I have introduced a scheme to support new apprenticeships and an apprenticeship challenge scheme to try to get innovative apprenticeships up and running. <BR /> <BR />I have also allocated £6·2 million to support the provision of free flexible training for up to 5,000 individuals who have been directly impacted by the pandemic. Courses are available in all of the further education colleges, Queen’s University, Ulster University and the Open University. I encourage anyone whose employment has been hit by the pandemic to explore those opportunities. <BR /> <BR />Members will be aware that I recently launched the COVID restrictions business support scheme to provide support to businesses and individuals directly impacted by the ongoing restrictions and those within their supply chain.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, with your permission, I will group questions 4, 6 and 14, and I ask for your permission for an extra minute to answer those questions. Were Mr Speaker here today, he would be astounded that I am answering question 14. <BR /> <BR />My Department has developed a number of packages to support younger workers and those most adversely impacted by COVID-19. An apprenticeship recovery package has been established to encourage the return to work of up to 4,500 furloughed apprentices and their retention through to the successful completion of their apprenticeship. Those apprenticeship skills will play a significant contribution in maintaining the skills pipeline and supporting the renewal of the wider Northern Ireland economy.”
“It is difficult for me to speak of individual circumstances, but employers should not use the pandemic to abuse or negate employees' rights. That is why I introduced the legislation around furlough payments and potential redundancies. I advise any employees who feel that their rights have been abused to contact the Law Centre or Labour Relations Agency where there will be specialist advice and people who will be able to take it further for them.”
“This is an issue of huge importance, and it is important that the Minister charged with employment rights should take a view on it. I know that there is huge support in the House for this issue. I recognise that some employers already act in a compassionate and progressive way in relation to this issue with people who have worked for a long time in their business. Therefore, I have asked officials to give consideration to this, and I will revert to the House in due course.”
“I am. I agree that the lateness of the hour in bringing forward the extension of the scheme has caused significant problems for employees and for employers, who had already made their business plans based on another set of circumstances. I fully agree with you. You will have heard me call numerous times for the job retention scheme to be extended, particularly for sectors that still have and will have a significant tailback in their recovery from the pandemic. <BR /> <BR />I will, of course, instruct officials to look at any gaps that there may be, but no employee being re-employed should suffer disadvantage. If there are to be redundancies while that person is on furlough, it should not be based on their furlough wage but on their full entitlement, so that people are not disadvantaged in that way either.”
“<BR /> <BR />I firmly believe that employers who have been able to take advantage of the scheme should treat staff fairly and respect employee rights, including those relating to redundancy consultation, notice period and redundancy pay. That is why I previously introduced legislation to ensure that employees furloughed under the original scheme would not see reductions in those entitlements. <BR /> <BR />Any individual who believes that their employment rights have been breached should consider contacting the Labour Relations Agency's workplace information service for confidential and impartial information or the Law Centre Northern Ireland, which continues to provide free, independent, specialist legal advice on employment rights.”
“Thank you for your question. My officials are actively engaging with their counterparts in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to ascertain what, if any, changes are required to employment law in Northern Ireland following the extension of the coronavirus job retention scheme. <BR /> <BR />HMRC is responsible for the scheme and its eligibility criteria. However, I understand that employees who were on the payroll on 23 September 2020, but who were made redundant or stopped working for their employer afterwards, can be re-employed and claimed for. As the scheme is operated by HMRC, any employer requiring information on the extension should contact HMRC directly.”
“The Member will have seen the variety of schemes that were allocated today. If she would like to identify the gap that she talked about, of course, we can talk about it.”
“I can confirm that we submitted a very wide-ranging number of bids to the Finance Minister. Those were well in excess of £300 million, because we believe that the economy needs to be stimulated in order to recover. We need to offer help to those who have been impacted, but we also need to have the stimulus scheme that the economy, particularly the high street, will require to recover.”
“<BR /> <BR />If I may, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will take the time to deal with the self-employed scheme. I asked for and circulated a paper for those who were recently self-employed and, indeed, for those who were company directors. My initial bid to the Finance Minister was for £70 million for those schemes. I have been allocated £30 million in total, £10 million that I was allocated in a previous allocation and £20 million today. Those schemes will reflect the allocation made to me by the Finance Minister.”
“Around 100 officials from Invest NI are working on the two parts of the scheme. As I said, they are complex schemes. They are not one-off payments, and they have to be verified and measured. They are complex schemes and are difficult to get through. Officials will continue to work on those as quickly as possible, but I ask that Members of this House help by getting information out. The more information that we receive about the application, the quicker the response will be. However, I recognise that there are many people who are hurting and who need money out very quickly and that the restrictions, in the run-up to Christmas, are very difficult for people to deal with. We will endeavour to do our bit as quickly as possible, although I do say again that the vast majority of support will be delivered through the Finance Minister.”
“We are now down to some of the elements where this is very much a manual scheme and where we are now having to phone to address issues of assurances and verification. I am sure that the House will agree that it is important to get the balance right between getting money out and getting the verification and assurance around that money that taxpayers deserve.”
“The Member will be aware, but I think that it is worth reminding the House, as I reminded Executive Ministers this morning, that there are two schemes in operation. One is for businesses that are rates-based, and that is operated by the Finance Minister. That is by far the very largest proportion of the funding that will be able for businesses in the current period of restrictions. The scheme that I am running, part A, is, obviously, for people who do not have a premises. It is a much, much smaller part of the scheme. <BR /> <BR />I can report that my officials in Invest NI worked throughout the weekend. Around half of those who have applied have now been paid. Everyone who applied and used an accountant's letter as a verification has now been paid, and that means that about £3·6 million has gone into the local economy.”
“I have found my glasses; things will look brighter. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Member for his question. My department has spent £353 million supporting individuals and businesses since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That covers the period until 31 October 2020 and includes £243 million on the £10,000 small business support grant scheme; £73 million on the £25,000 retail, hospitality, tourism and leisure grant scheme; and £23 million on the microbusiness hardship fund. I will place full details of the interventions, broken down by measure, in the Assembly Library. In addition to the £353 million to support individuals and businesses, a further £6·6 million has been spent by my Department on COVID-19 interventions for the higher and further education sectors.”
“An interdepartmental group is looking at that issue, and it is being governed by advice from the Public Health Agency. You will have noticed in today's headlines that Queen's University has already introduced significant testing so that students can travel and go home with a degree of confidence. Of course, we have had a constructive engagement on the issue with the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, and Michelle Donelan, the Universities Minister.”
“I urge that recovery packages for both Belfast International Airport and Belfast City Airport come forward as quickly as possible. If we do not have viable airports and connectivity, our recovery will be slower, and that will be more difficult for everyone in the long term. I raised this very important issue in the Executive last week. I expect to see that package come forward as quickly as possible.”
“Thank you for the question. I put on record that, tomorrow, I will have a conversation with Sir Peter Hendy, who is conducting the Union connectivity review. Of course, I will be raising the issues of APD, the inter-connectedness of our Union, and the importance of connectivity to GB as our main market for both goods and tourism. <BR /> <BR />On direct support for Belfast International Airport, the Member will understand that it is the role of the Department for the Economy to give support to air connectivity; support for airports relies on the Department of Finance and, of course, the Department for Infrastructure. I note that the Infrastructure Minister has made £1·2 million available for the City of Derry Airport.”
“I trust that the Government will bring that forward and finalise it as quickly as possible because it is an important part of our recovery plan. Of course, APD on domestic flights is an important issue in the recovery plan as well. I view APD as an unjust tax on travel to Northern Ireland.”
“The Member the raises an important issue. Yes, I have been in discussion with Belfast International Airport on two transatlantic routes, one to New York and one to Boston, as well as another to Doha. The proposal from Belfast International Airport is a reserved matter, as aviation is a reserved matter, falling to the Department for Transport. I have, however, instructed my officials to investigate the idea of having support for routes, particularly to North America, as part of our recovery from COVID, but it is also important for Northern Ireland's centenary year that we can expand our markets, horizons and cultural exchanges to other parts of the world. <BR /> <BR />I have also engaged with the Department for Transport on the UK aviation recovery plan.”
“I thank the Member for his question. He knows that my responsibility is to maintain and enhance Northern Ireland’s air connectivity, both domestically and internationally. <BR /> <BR />I played a key role in securing the £5·7 million support package announced in May for Belfast City Airport and City of Derry Airport and for airlines operating essential flights. That money safeguarded our air connectivity with GB during the initial COVID crisis period. In recent monitoring rounds, I have secured £2 million to fund marketing support by March 2021. That will be delivered by Tourism Ireland. Some £0·8 million relates to cooperative marketing support for airlines operating to all three of Northern Ireland's airports, with £1·2 million for a campaign highlighting all air and sea carriers serving Northern Ireland and their routes.”
“As many Members know, I have engaged with a wide range of people, including those people who call themselves excluded, over a long time. The issues will not change.”
“Most Members in here, whether or not they agree with me politically, will not underestimate my grave concerns for businesses that have been told to close, for people who may lose their jobs and for people who, even under a furlough scheme, face having 80% of their salary in the run-up to Christmas. These are incredibly difficult circumstances. The Executive last week, ungainly as the situation might have been, reflected the difficult, tricky balance of issues. It is really important that we have a health service that can function, but it is equally important that we have an economy that can function. An economy that is in poor shape will produce poor health outcomes, more difficulties for communities and individuals, and even death. That weighs heavily on our minds.”
“I would advise your constituents to do that and to keep in contact.”
“Yes, it is fully intended that those businesses will receive those financial supports. It is unfair and improper to ask businesses to close and not to support them. We will endeavour to do that. <BR /> <BR />Many Members to whom I speak, either individually or in the Chamber, will know that one of the real difficulties in schemes such as this is the verification of applications. Accountants' letters were one way in which we could do that in the absence of HMRC cooperation. I understand that that is difficult for some people, but we must have assurances around taxpayers' money that is being used for the schemes. I hope that that does not put people off from applying. People have told me that they have phoned the Invest NI helpline and have been helped considerably about how to get these things moving.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. No amount of shouting at me in this Chamber will change my mind on how important these issues are and how important it is to respond to people in difficult circumstances. <BR />The Member can shout all he wants in that respect. <BR /> <BR />On Thursday, the Executive will consider a paper on those who call themselves excluded. Of course, it will be for the Executive to decide what to do on that. There will also be further payments, as I said, by the end of this week under part A, and the expectation is that part B will start on Wednesday. These are important things, and I know that the Member, as Chair of the Finance Committee, would want that money to go out with assurance and probity around it, although his recent statements might not suggest that.”
“I am unsure which section of society the Member is referring to. The Executive will get a paper from me on Thursday on those who term themselves as excluded. That paper is ready and will be signed off.”
“The paper that was produced last week on modelling the impacts on the economy adopts exactly the same premise as modelling on health impacts that his colleague the Health Minister produces. They are models; they are not precise instruments, just as those from the Health Department around health predictions are modelling. I commend the Member for his persistence but ask him to at least read the paper and the premise on which it is based.”
“I accept his sincerity in what he is putting forward, but two things have to happen: we have to know the further restrictions that the Health Minister wants to bring, and the proposals from Health on how we break the cycle of lockdowns. These are incredibly difficult, unpredictable and new circumstances for us all, and the anxieties of last week were a demonstration of that.”
“The paper that the Member refers to is, like much of the work that we are doing, is modelling around the impacts on the economy. It had as its premise that restrictions would be lifted and people allowed to trade in a freer manner. <BR /> <BR />The compromise solution that the Executive came to last week will see all the restrictions continue bar the one for close-contact services, which the Health Minister indicates adds about 0·05 to the R rate, and the opening of coffee shops. If we are to have a full bounce-back of the economy and not increase that £400 million number, we will have to allow our economy to operate. <BR /> <BR />I accept that these are very difficult situations for us to be in. I talk on a regular basis to the Health Minister.”
“I have devised a number of schemes for people, right across Northern Ireland, and we try to get money out as quickly as possible with as much assurance as possible, and that is very important. <BR /> <BR />I have given an indication of the different schemes and the additional supports that I am working on. The Executive will, probably on Thursday, take decisions around further and additional supports, and I am open to looking at any ideas that Executive colleagues bring forward. The Member will know that the Finance Minister has asked for further bids in relation to the £500 million that he is holding, and I have indicated some of those bids that we are currently working on.”
“I thank the Member for her question, but I would ask her to clarify whether she is talking about the scheme run by the Department of Finance or the scheme run by the Department for the Economy, which is much newer and has moved reasonably well, given its complex nature. If it is a business in the north-west, as my colleague on the other side of the House has indicated, waiting seven weeks, then it almost certainly relates to the localised restrictions support scheme. <BR /> <BR />We need to be very clear about the schemes that we are talking about and not conflate the two. Of course, that is easy to do on social media or for a quick sound bite, but for people who actually require support, that is not the best way forward, and I take that very seriously.”